The Orphan of Hellsing
by Omega Z
Summary: Family killed by freaks, Marcus does all he can to get back at their killers with the Hellsing bunch.
1. Order 0: Death

I do not own Hellsing. So don't sue me!

Order 00: Death

Walking home from the library, Marcus was in a slight panic. _Oh man! I am soooo late! Mom is going to kill me!_

It was well past nine o'clock, the time he was supposed to be home, and he did not like the dark. Not that he would admit it. Coming up to his house, he glanced curiously at the unfamiliar trucks on the long drive-way. _It must be the electricians that were supposed to come last week._

"Mom! Dad! I'm home. Sorry I'm late," he said. Not hearing a reply, he walked through the dark house to the kitchen. "Mom?! Dad?! Where are you?" They were never out this late at night. Walking into the living room, he turned on the light and stopped dead in his tracks.

Walking towards him was a living corpse dressed in a cop's uniform with a gun aimed at his head. Before it could shoot, he ran back to the kitchen, where he found more ghouls shuffling towards him, all of them festering away, with guns in their hands and no eye's in their skulls. Perspiring like a fountain now, he screamed and ran out the back door to the patio. Only the star light shown down and he crouched behind the patio furniture.

Panting, he looked up at his backyard. Undead horrors were all coming towards him, albeit slowly, led by the town's chief of police. He was laughing madly, his eyes glowing fiery red, and he jeered the young fifteen year old.

"Come on Marcus! Don't make me come after you. He ha ha ha ha! You stand no fate against my patrol. In life, you were a coward and a weakling. Now in death you will continue your role! Bwahahahahahaha!" the chief crowed, his voice as nasty as the sneer on his face. He was on the patio now, looking right at him. With a sudden heave, he threw the chair away and grabbed Marcus by the front of his shirt. Bringing their faces right next to each other, he grinned and threw him down on the pavement, where he started to beat and kick the life out of him.

Screaming in pain, Marcus was only able to cry out "Help!" before being thrown out to the hoard of zombies. As they slowly closed in around him, drooling out of their sharp teeth, Marcus had only the strength to watch as they came closer, and closer, and closer, until…

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

A lone man stepped out from behind the trees near Marcus. He was dressed in a deep red trench coat, red fedora, and mirrored sun glasses that seemed to shine with their own light in the shadows of the trees.

"Kill him!" roared the chief, but as soon as the words left his mouth-

_Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!_

all of his minions lay dead on the ground.

"In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen." said the red dressed stranger, reloading his two massive pistols. "You have some nerve, attacking with heavy fire power in an area populated this much. You are a disgrace to our noble species, you undead freak! For this I will kill you," he stated as he aimed his gun at the Police Chief's head.

_Bang!_

This was all that Marcus saw before blacking out…

He woke with a splitting ache in his left arm, which was the reason for his return to consciousness. Opening his eyes, he didn't see the familiar blue ceiling of his bedroom, but rather a grey stone ceiling, like that in a castle. Looking around, he realized that he wasn't home at all, but in a small, sparsely furnished room that reminded him of a jail cell. Happy to see that, he still had his clothes, he got up and went to the door, when all of the sudden, he thought he saw the smiling face of his savior from last night. Gasping he turned around.

Nothing was there.

_It does seem that I am in some kind of a dungeon, what with the way that all of the walls are made of stone_._ But where am I?_ Rounding a turn in the hall way, he almost ran into a man. He was tall, and looked quite old, but distinguished with his smart suit and monocle. His hair was tied back in a pony tail, but he had this sense of cleverly concealed wisdom. All Marcus could do was stare.

"Ah, good you are awake. My name is Walter. Sir Integra will see you now." he said briskly, and turned around motioning for Marcus to follow. Marcus, now thoroughly confused, could only follow in his lead.

They walked up a flight of stairs, and saw that they were in a massive, yet beautiful mansion. Marcus gasped in amazement, and almost tripped while looking at the massive hall. Walter lead him to a pair of French doors, which he opened and, bowing, walked away, leaving Marcus to stand there bewildered, having lost any sense of what a door was for.

"Well, come in then." said a strong female voice from behind the door. Marcus stepped in and stood there staring.

In front of him sitting in a finely polished wooden desk was a woman in a man's green suit. Her platinum blonde hair fell luxuriously from her head and her sharp blue eyes examined him from behind large glasses. She sat there staring for a moment, and than motioned for to a chair, obviously indicating that he should sit down. Marcus hastily scrambled to the chair, but then stopped. Looking directly into the woman's eyes, he said "Who are you?"

"I meant for you to sit in the chair, not lean upon it. And my name is Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing. Furthermore, I will be the one interrogating you, Mr. Banks." she said rather testily. Through the window behind her, he could tell that it was some time in the morning and Sir Integra didn't appear to have gotten enough sleep. Her eyes were blood shot, and she seemed to be slumped over in her chair. This is not the picture of someone well rested.

"You are Mister Marcus Israfel Banks, correct?" to which Marcus nodded. "Last night, your home was subject to a vampire attack that killed off all of the inhabitants, except you. Your family and anyone else in the town was turned into a ghoul by the police officer whom was had voluntarily gone under a F.R.E.A.K. chip operation. All the ghouls and the vampire have now been destroyed, but the question remains, what to do with you?" She stopped and got up to look out the window at the suns rays flowing over the roofs of London. Sir Integra then stepped to the phone on her desk and pressed a button. "Walter? Report to my office immediately."

And in came the butler, obviously Walter. "Is there any thing you require Sir?"

"Yes, move Mr. Bank's belongings to the spare bedchamber and prepare the room for him. He will be staying with us from now on." she said bluntly, as if this were quite a common practice for her.

"Sir?" inquired the steward.

"Now Walter." Was all she had to say, and he was gone. "Mr. Banks, you will be residing at the Hellsing Organization's Headquarters from now on. If you follow Walter, he will show you to your room and introduce you to the rest of the staff. Is this understood? Mr. Banks?"

He was crying. The entire time silent tears had been running down his face until he could no longer hold it down and the came rushing out. Marcus put his face in his hands and wept as Integra watched, sorrow in her eyes as well. She walked over and offered him a handkerchief, which he accepted. Moving towards the door, she left him saying "I know it hurts, but the pain will only make you stronger. Those we love never fade from memory, but you must learn to bear the pain or it will overwhelm you. I will leave the door locked from the inside."

And with that she locked and closed the door, leaving him be. Sighing, she rested her head against the door. Behind her stood a tall figure in red.

"That was cold, Master. Horribly cold," it said, its mirrored sunglasses staring at her from the shadows of its hat.

"Yes… I know Alucard."

(Author's Notation: I apologize for not writing this sooner, but education overrides relaxation. Sorry.)


	2. Order 1: Initiation

Order 01: Initiation

(Author's note: Again, I am truly sorry that I have not been able to keep up with my story, but I had finals, and school and my life sucks! But don't worry, I truly will work until I have finished my story. Thank you for sticking with me all this time! _Looks into audience, sees only a passing tumbleweed, hangs head in depression._)

Marcus woke up to the sun streaming through the window that had finally reached his eyes. Sitting up in bed, he squinted around the room. He was in a four poster bed, on a red carpet in a room that was not his own. To his right he saw a night stand, dresser, door, writing desk, and book shelf. On his left was a wall and another door. In front was his wake-up call, the sun shining down to light up his pillow and linens.

He flopped down back on to his bed, staring. Unfamiliar ceiling. So it wasn't a dream. His family was dead. But as he dwelt on their passing, he felt no tears streaming down his face. He remembered that he had cried himself to sleep, in Sir Integra's office.

He got up and opened the dresser to find that someone had taken the liberty of providing him with what looked like a green military uniform for clothes. Figuring these were better than his boxer's, he slipped them on and opened door number one to find himself in a hallway, close to the large staircase he had seen last night. Going down stairs, he saw a girl with short strawberry blonde hair and a blue uniform similar to what he had sitting on the bottom most step.

"E- Excuse me, but could you tell me the way to Sir Integra's office? Please?" he mumbled, blushing madly as she turned to him and saw that she had a very beautiful figure. When Marcus looked at her face again, he saw that she had red eyes.

Then, something clicked in his head. Red eyes. Red eyes. Red eyes. Red eyes. Red eyes. Red eyes. Red eyes. Red eyes.

Vampire.

Enemy.

All of a sudden the long forgotten rage that resides in all living humans returned. You see, humans only use about five percent of their brain most of the time. It is only in highly emotional states, like battle or meditation that the rest of the brain is opened up. Some call it enlightenment. The person now can do any number of things that they would not be able to do.

Marcus's eyes narrowed and leaped into a tackle towards the vampire, screaming. She held up her arms to catch him, but he was too fast already and knocked her to the ground. He started punching her with all that he could muster, determined to end her damned existence. She knocked him away with a kick. Hard. He landed on his back and charged once again, roaring. She said something, but it didn't matter. She had to die.

"**DIE YOU DAMN MONSTER!"** he yelled and threw a right hook at her jaw connecting with a horrible snap. Leaping into the air, he came kicked her in the ribs, knocking against a wall.

"**DIE! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!**

He started beating her in the stomach, causing her to double over. With a massive upper cut, he connected with her neck, causing her to start gasping for air. Then she head butted him in the stomach shooting him across the room and he landed on his back. When he looked up, he saw that she had her fangs bared into a sickening smile.

"Officer Victoria, stop at once!" came a stern voice from above. The vampire and human looked up to see none other than Sir Integra glaring down at them from the stair case. " What is the meaning of this, brawling in the main hall with one of our soldiers?"

"Sir he attacked me first! I was just sitting… he's a soldier!" she asked, astonished.

"Of course he is, look at his uni…" she stopped as she looked at him. She stopped glaring at him, but instead wore on odd, undecipherable face. "Marcus, come with me at once." She said in a level voice.

He stood up and followed her, breathing heavily, but dumbstruck. They went into her office and sat at down at her desk. Now out of his temporary psychosis, Marcus felt very, very cold.

"I see you have met Senior Officer Seras Victoria. What do you think of…" began Sir Hellsing, but was cut off by the adolescent in front of her.

"She's a vampire, what do you think?" was his cold reply.

"I see how you feel Marcus, but remember this: there will be no brawling in _my home._ The fact that you did, even under the given circumstances, is deplorable." She stopped and looked him directly in the eyes with piercing azure eyes. "Especially deplorable for a soldier of Hellsing."

At this Marcus hung his mouth open. He blinked at least twice before answering with a weak "What?"

"Your family is dead. You have no more living relatives. You know for a fact that vampires exist and you have seen one first hand. You have even fought one just now. Do you honestly think I will jeopardize the secrecy of these demons by letting you go? Your training begins after breakfast, which is right about now…"she stated matter-of-factly as Walter walked into the room to announce breakfast. "After breakfast, Walter, will you show Mr. Banks to Captain Bernadette for primary training?"

"Of course Sir Integra," the old man said with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Right this way my boy!"

"What the Hell do you mean he attacked Seras! I'll wring his little #ing neck!" This is what Marcus herd as he approached the armory with Walter. The aged butler only sighed and pushed open the door to show a very angry one-eyed Frenchman having a frank discussion with another man dressed in a Hellsing uniform.

"May I present Mr. Marcus Israfel Banks. Mr. Banks, this is Captain Bernadette of the Wild Geese. He and his team are mercenaries employed by the Hellsing Agen-"

"There he is the, little shit! Let me at'em! No one hurts my cheri! I'll take his heart out of his chest and feed it to the hounds! Little #er!"

"-cy to assist in the extermination of the creatures of the night who harm humans," finished Walter, once the captain had been restrained by his fellow mercenaries. "He is the one who will train you in basic combat against human and non-human adversaries, the care and use of armaments used against human and non-human adversaries, and hopefully in _self restraint_." He added with a meaningful glance to the captain and left the room.

Marcus was slightly upset by the outburst of the captain, and when Walter closed the door behind him, he had the sudden thought that he was in the same room with a man who had just threatened to kill him in several different and creative ways. Eyes widening, he backed up against the wall as Captain Bernadette got up and looked him in the eye. He was of medium build, with a black eye patch over his left eye and a long braid running down his back. He was wearing a tan jacket over a white shirt with a blue scarf around his neck, blue jeans, and combat boots.

The man snorted and said "You don't look like you are very strong, non? Do you do any sports?"

"No sir."

"Do you work out?"

"No sir."

"Tell me boy, what use is a fifteen year old, skinny little punk who has probably never even seen a gun before going to be when we get in a real fight?" inquired the captain, still glaring at Marcus. "Nothing, that's what! It is apparently now my duties to train you in what we do here at Hellsing. From now on you are going to enter a strict training regiment full of hard work followed by more hard work. You will be strong, so what happened to you at your home does not happen to you any more… or to any one else for that matter. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

"And stop calling me sir! God I hate it when people do that. Sorry I got pissed off a moment ago, just don't ever mess with Seras again, ok?" he said, turning down the drill instructor a few notches.

"Yes si- oh right… I don't need much encouragement on that. She got me with a head butt to the stomach that sent me flying." Marcus retorted, a grin splitting across his face.

"Ha ha ha ha! I forgot how much her hit's hurt. What has it been, two days since she slapped me last? She is a fine woman, just don't piss her off. Now come on, let's go to the armory to get you a weapon." The mercenary showed the way to a room filled with all kinds of weapons, from katanas, to AK-47s, to darts, to seven kinds of grenades, to knives, sabers, pistols, rifles, and to bazookas. "This is what happens when very rich people like weapons and have governmental backing. You get a room full of kick-ass weapons," he glanced down over at the teen, who was actually drooling at the thing of beauty that stood before him. "I see you must be into violent video games. Well they are nothing compared to the real thing. You don't get a kick out of an X-box controller. Now take your pick so I can beat you with whatever weapon you take."

At that command, Marcus sauntered over to the cornucopia of death and destruction makers. He picked up an AK-47, but found it too simple. Wandering over to the pistols, he found the .45 Smith and Wesson to his liking, but the kick was to strong as he tested in the firing range in the nest room. Glancing at the rocket launchers, he didn't even try to pick it up. The same applied to the claymores and battle axes. However, it was only when he saw a leather whip that he realized the something: every bullet and every bullet in this room was made of silver. They shone as if they were in the bright sun, even though they were only illuminated by artificial light, and practically sang as he swung or shot them, the resonating music setting off something deep inside of him that made him appreciate it's metallic smoothness, it's cool, calming touch, and it's burning sense of justice. Silver was for those who dealt righteousness with a steady hand, never wavering, and never giving up. He thought of all this when his thoughts were interrupted.

"Just pick something all ready! We've been down here for ten minutes all ready!" came his instructor's aggravated voice. About to complain, his eye caught two objects mounted on a far wall. They were two very large pistols about nineteen meters long from barrel to hammer, but instead of the magazine's being fed into the bottom of the handle, they were slid in through the top of the weapon. Where the magazine would have gone in, there were instead very large curved blades, about thirty meters long, that were now held in titanium sheathes. He walked over and picked them up, holding them up to the light. On the barrel of the guns was inscribed in flowing cursive: _Hell's Gate Arrested_.

Walking back to the captain, he showed them his new armaments and asked what they were called. After inspecting them closely, he smiled and said they were very rare weapons that had not been used since before the First World War.

"They're called _Archangels_. Seeing the job we do, I guess it fits. Now let's get to work."

The rest of the day went by quite quickly, with three hours in the weight room with the rest of the soldiers, followed by weapons training, hand-to-hand combat, a break for lunch (which was much appreciated by all), his first failed attempt with the canine unit (it went bad as he was allergic to the canine units, by why did the other guards laugh nervously about he would soon be encountering worse than Dobermans?), followed by tea, then guard duty, which was surprisingly boring.

"I mean, why do they march us all around this place when they could set up a camera system that would cost less and save us the trouble of just looking at a bunch of gardens?" complained the newest Hellsing soldier. He was on patrol with Captain Bernadette, who preferred to be called Pip, and he was.

"That's because some things don't show up on camera. Now stop talking so loud," the Frenchman said, though his mind was on elsewhere at the moment (but I'm not even going to say where ; ) ).

They had just gotten through a grove of trees when they saw two figures standing by a fountain. One was short, with a crop of hair that clearly identified her as Seras Victoria (that and two other _very_ obvious things that identified her as the Draculina). The other was standing behind the fountain and couldn't be seen by them.

"Hey it's Officer Victoria! But what's she doing out here now?" said Marcus. The sun had just set, but the crescent moon shone through the clouds accompanied by a set of constellations. In the light, they could both see that she was doing a lot of the talking in the conversation, but she would occasionally stop and listen to whoever she was talking too.

They both approached the fountain, but as they came up, the Seras and her partner left back to the mansion. When they had walked around the fountain, Pip and Marcus saw two shadows crossing the grounds. Not much could be seen until they crossed a clearing and the moon light hit them. Officer Victoria could be clearly identified, but Marcus couldn't name the tall one in the red trench coat, and big… red… hat…and that's when it clicked.

"Oh my God! It's that guy! I thought I had just imagined him at first, but I had no idea that he was with you guys. He saved me a last night from the vampire. Who is he Pip?" inquired Marcus in an awed voice.

"That is…umm…uh, well his name is Alucard. He works for Sir Integra, and, um, well he's kinda…sorta…umm…" Pip said, but Marcus wasn't even paying attention. He just started to follow them up to the mansion. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" But Marcus wouldn't have stopped if he had herd him.

As they got inside the mansion, the tall one in red went to the underground levels that Marcus had stayed in the previous night. Some how, he always stayed just ahead of Marcus, going through a door or around a corner right as Marcus caught sight of him until he entered a solid steel door at the end of a long hallway.

The door had a large pentagram drawn on it _in blood_.

He walked up to it and knocked on the door.

"Come in Integra," came the voice from inside the door, at once dark and seductive. Marcus opened the door.

Inside stood a small wooden table with a pair of yellow tinted sunglasses, a bottle of red liquid, a wine glass, and a red cloth that hung over the edges on it, a large throne-like chair and a long black box that looked like a-

"Who are you? What are you doing here!" said that dark voice, now menacing. It came from the shadows as the tall man stepped out. His skin was pale against the little light and his bright red coat. Under the coat was a black jacket over a clean white shirt. He had a red ribbon tied in a shoelace knot around his collar and black pants ending in black boots that went up to his shins.

"Who are you?" the man repeated, now in an angry tone, suddenly lights in the room turned red and the man was glaring at him with familiar eyes:

Red eyes. He too was a vampire. But instead of attacking, Marcus could only watch in horror as the nosferatu approached him. Somehow, red eyes were also appearing around the entire room. He tore his gaze from the approaching vampire and saw he was surrounded by thousands of blood red eyes. Turning back to the vampire, Marcus gulped and spoke to him.

"My name is Marcus Banks, sir. I just wanted to th-thank you for saving me last night." came out his reply.

To this the vampire Alucard grinned and the room returned to normal. "You show quite a bit of courage and manners, Squire, even after the way you attacked my fledgling this morning. Quite an impressive feat for a human. I accept your thanks sincerely," with this he bowed and gazed into Marcus's eyes. For a second, it felt to Marcus as if he was a frog being dissected by high school students, but then the feeling was gone as Alucard started chuckling to himself and reached for the bottle of red liquid on the table and poured himself a glass full of it. Only in the light could Marcus see the only identifying mark on it: O+.

Marcus ran from the dungeon as fast as he could. The sounds of his footsteps were followed by maddened laughter.


	3. Order 2: First Sortie

(Author's Note: Please forgive me for not updating earlier, but as usual, school, my crappy life, and other such stuff got in the way. Thank you sheiro2, you little devil you, for your kind review and to kitsunia for your encouragement to continue my "saga". Were it not for you two, this all would have been a one shot._ Looks into audience, pauses for a second, waiting for it…_ God damn it! Even the crickets have abandoned me! Oh they probably went to that sheiro2's fic, but I'll show them! I will right a fic so fic-y that all of fic-dom will tremble with my awesome fic-y-ness!)

Order 2: First Sortie

The next day, Marcus was awoken by a knock at his door. Getting out of bed, he stumbled over and was greeted by the face of Walter.

"Good morning Mr. Banks. Did you sleep well?" inquired the steward of Hellsing, a little too peppy for this early in the morning. _What do they put in the tea here?_ thought Marcus.

"It was all right, thank you Walter," came his groggy reply.

"Wonderful, now if you will follow me, breakfast is served," said Walter happily, and they went downstairs once Marcus had put something on other than his pajama's. They entered the soldier's mess hall, which was much like a cafeteria, except that the furniture was nicer and there wasn't a lunch line. There were a few dozen soldiers there already, but they only nodded to him and sipped their coffee. Marcus chose to sit at a small round table in the corner. After ordering an omelet and some O.J. from the waitress who worked there, he grabbed the comics from one of the other soldiers and read about how hopeless Charlie Brown was.

He had only made it to Garfield when he heard someone sit down next to him. Glancing up from the paper, he almost choked on a bit of ham from his eggs, because Senior Officer Seras Victoria was sitting next to him, staring intently at him.

"_Cough cough_ What are you doing here?" he asked the vampire.

"I only wanted to apologize for yesterday. I hope I didn't hurt you. Sorry…" she said and got up to go.

"Wait, I'm sorry to. I shouldn't have attacked you like that. I-I don't know what came over me. Sorry…"then to brighten the moment, he said "Do you want some toast? I never eat mine."

"Oh no, that's alright. I can't eat regular food," she came back and sat down. "I was wondering how your training was going with Pip."

"It's alright, but it's pretty hard. I never had to do anything like this in gym class," he said with a sigh. They continued to talk about his training, his weapon choice, how much Sir Integra looked like a man (with far too many jokes at her expense), and how Walter used to be gay.

"Really! I wouldn't have ever thought about that. Did he ever meet anyone?" asked Marcus.

"Yeah, I think he was once in love with my master. Oh right, he was the one that saved you from that freak!" she answered.

At this, Marcus's eyes widened and he shivered. "Alucard is your master? I learned about how that works yesterday with Pip. So… does that mean you have never…?"

"No, I still have yet to…drink," she answered in a quiet voice. She stared at the table for a second and Marcus realized this wasn't her favorite subject. He was spared the awkward-ness by Pip coming in and telling him it was time to get moving.

Marcus's life entered a sort of routing from that point on. At six o'clock Walter would come and wake him up from his room, he would have breakfast, followed by train with Pip, and then he would either be on guard duty or he would have some free-time before bed. During his next too weeks, he saw little of Sir Integra, who apparently spent her life doing paperwork, or Alucard, who make his presence know none the less. For instance, when Marcus was on guard duty, he and Pip would occasionally see bats flying around the grounds, or hear maniacal laughter from Sir Integra's office (usually followed by shouting and several gunshots).

"Do they always act like that?" asked Marcus.

"Only when Alucard is bored. He wants to get out and fight, but there is nothing for him to do except bother the boss."

It was September now, and some of the leaves were turning shades of red and orange. The rain was pouring on the two soldiers as they walked along the paths of the Hellsing family's property. They walked up to the fountain that they had seen Seras and Alucard at before and stopped for a break and cigarette.

"You know, you really shouldn't smoke those. Your lungs accumulate about a soda can's worth of tar with just one year of smoking," warned the fifteen year old.

"When I want to know your opinion kid, I'll ask for it. Besides, I've faced down worse than this." was the captains annoyed response. Neither of them noticed the fountain stop spouting water behind them. There was a cracking sound and the water started to freeze as the temperature dropped suddenly.

"Hey Pip, is it getting cold out here?" asked the young soldier. A breeze went through the air, making the trees sway hypnotically. Shivering, Marcus hugged his knees as the chill air swept through.

"The air isn't supposed to be this cold this time of year," said Pip, drawing his revolver and pulling the hammer back. "Draw your weapon kid, there's something out there."

He got up off the bench and surveyed the woods around them. The wind blew his braid around near his shoulder. Marcus watched him walk around the fountain, looking in the trees for something. Behind him, the now frozen fountain reflected the light of the moon. It threw a shadow of the fountain across the pool of water. Marcus turned to look at it. Something wasn't right about it. As he leaned in to inspect it a pair of red eyes shone out of the shadow.

"Captain! Captain! There is something in the fountain!" he yelled, which brought Pip running over. He unloaded a round of bullets into the ice, but they only bounced off. From the shadow arose a tall woman dressed in white. Her brunette hair fluttered behind as she stepped out of the fountain. She was wearing a skin tight body suit that did nothing by the way of hiding her large breasts, a small blue jewel around her neck, and high heeled boots. In her gloved hand she held a long white spear that she now used to stab at Marcus. As he dodged the attack, he caught a glimpse of her face. It was like it was chiseled out of white marble, with only her red eyes showing she was nosferatu.

Drawing his _Archangels_, Marcus pulled back the hammer and unloaded two rounds at her head, but they only bounced off her skin. She swung with the butt end of the spear, but Marcus ducked and sliced at her legs, only managing to cut open one of her boots. He heard Pip radio for help, but the distraction only brought him a kick to the jaw that sent him flying back. Spitting out a tooth, he shot off three more bullets, but she wasn't there. Looking up, he saw with horror the vampires falling out of a leap with her spear headed straight for him. Throwing his arms up to defend himself, he heard a sound that sounded like a cannon. The vampire had been knocked out of the air by an exploding shell and was lying on the ground to his left. He looked with amazement to see Seras loading another shell into her _Harkonnen_ cannon.

"Don't just stand there Marcus! Finish her off!" she yelled to him. Nodding he broke into a sprint to the now standing vampire. He crossed his arms in front of him and swung his silver blades in a double slash and shot her in the head as the barrels of his weapons came in front of her skull.

Backing up, he waited for what she was going to do next, but she just stood there, glaring at him. Then, with the sound of paper being torn in two, her body suit fell apart and she fell to the ground, dead. Pip looked at the now naked body of the vampire before them, and grinned.

"Mon ami, that was a job well done. It looks like I've taught you well. If you were old enough, I'd buy you a drink," said the Frenchman.

Seras found it less amusing, and shot it with another Harkonnen blast, blowing it to smithereens. Pip was mortified.

"Seras! Why did you do that! That was a beautiful specimen of the vampiric body! We could have used that in resear-" he began but was cut off.

"Don't you start with me, you barmy Frenchman. You just wanted to stare at her chest for hours on end!" she shouted back, now thoroughly pissed off. "And you!" she went on, pointing at Marcus. "You should know better than to do that!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that." said Marcus replied, blushing madly. "Let's just get back to the mansion and make our report."

They walked back, Seras grumbling about stupid perverts, Marcus still thoroughly embarrassed about accidentally slicing off a woman's clothes, and Pip congratulating Marcus on a good kill.

When they got back to the mansion, Sir Integra was coming down the stairs to meet them.

"Are you all right Mr. Banks? I just heard about the attack." she said with an impassive gaze.

"I'm alright sir, just a bruised jaw. Thank you," Marcus answered.

"Senior Officer Seras Victoria, report." ordered Sir Integra.

"Yes sir. I was going about my… duties when Captain Bernadette radioed for backup. I gathered my Harkonnen and arrived in time to stop the target from impaling Private Banks, though he seemed to be doing a good job on his own." Marcus swelled with pride and waited for the compliments on how well he had trained, about how he was so awesome in battle. "According to Captain Bernadette, she froze the fountain and rose out of it. She wasn't that powerful though…"

"And why do you say that Seras?" inquired the knight. Marcus looked at Seras intently.

"Because a private in our army was able to defeat her with little help. She can't have been that powerful, sir." answered Seras. Marcus started banging his head on a nearby wall. Sir Integra sweatdropped and walked back to her office.

"How come you said that?" whined Marcus. "I think that I did a very good job for my first time."

Seras looked at him, and they should take care of his jaw. He took the hint to shut up and followed her to the infirmary.


	4. Order 3: Accuracy

(Author's note: Thank you once again Kitsunia for the uber-wonderful reviews. It sure feels nice to get appreciated for all my hard work. And is it just my computer, or are the chapters I have put up recently not showing up on the Hellsing section? Did I do something wrong? If you know, please tell me either by review or email. My address should be in my profile. I want these stories to be read by more than just me, sheiro2, and Kitsunia. I have plenty of seats open for who ever wants to show up. _Gestures to audience, or rather their seats, as there was no one else in the room, save for the vampiric hippo that grinned and laughed at Z._ Damn you hippo! I'll get you one of these days! _Pulls out Acme Hippo Net TM, and chases after vampire hippo._)

Order 3: Accuracy

After leaving the infirmary, Marcus and Pip said good night to Seras, who went downstairs to her room.

"You know, you really do have a sick mind. Are you just a walking hormone or something?" said Marcus with a mischievous glance at his instructor. Pip just grunted and walked on to the barracks, leaving Pip to go to his room.

After a nice shower, Marcus got dressed in some pajamas and looked for a few minutes out of his window. _Interesting. Just a week ago, my primary concern was whether I would pass biology. Now I can kill the undead in about twenty minutes._ He stayed there, watching the other soldiers keep watch, some with dogs, around the grounds of the Hellsing estate, when some pebbles hit the top of his head. Looking up, he saw a single white dove flying off into the trees, gracefully riding the currents of air the way a bullet soars to its target. Walking back to his bed, he saw that he had forgotten to store his _Archangel_s in the armory for safe keeping. Picking them off his dresser, he walked out of his room and through the halls of the Hellsing mansion.

_This isn't right; I've already passes that painting. Where is the armory?_ Marcus wondered. He had tried to find a map of the place, but it seemed that they had restricted access, in case they fell into the wrong hands. Now completely lost, he tried the three doors in range. The first led to a cleaning closet, the second a bathroom, but the third room led to the weight room. _Good, something familiar. Me and Pip always go from here to the shooting range, which is right next to the armory._ He walked past the rows of dumbbells and floor length mirrors in the darkened room, when he thought he heard a noise from behind him. Looking behind him, he saw only the various weight machines that the Hellsing Organization owned. Shrugging, he walked on to the door that led to the shooting gallery.

Now in the shooting gallery, Marcus could hear gunshots. Figuring that it was just some soldier getting some late night practice, he walked on. It wasn't until he was about thirty feet away from the shooter did he smell another scent mixed in with the gunpowder. It was strong, and rich, like finely polished mahogany. Taking a few more steps, he was finally able to identify it: cigar smoke.

Sir Integra Hellsing was in the thirty-seventh booth, unloading clips into paper targets. She had taken off her green suit and wore a white linen shirt, green slacks, and suspenders that complimented the blue, crossed tie at her neck. The paper targets that she had already used were stacked on a small table in the next booth. Despite the number of bullets she had shot, only a single hole was left on the heart of each and every one.

Stepping closer, he saw her narrow her eyes in hate as the next target presented itself. Gritting her teeth, her body turned rigid and vibrated as the force of the discharged bullet went through her body. In between shots, Marcus could hear her speaking.

"Die-you-bloody-freak. Die-you-God-damned-demon. Die-die-die-die-**Die!**" she screamed. She pulled the trigger once more only to find that she had run out of bullets. Hurling the gun against the wall behind her, Sir Integra stood there panting for several moments until Marcus spoke up.

"Are you alright, Sir Integra?" he asked in a small voice.

Startled, the head of the Hellsing Organization turned towards him, tears now welling up in her eyes. "Mr. Banks," she said, while wiping her eyes. "I didn't realize that you were here. Forgive my outburst, I'm fine. I'm fine."

"With all due respect Sir, you don't look or sound fine. What's wrong?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"It's nothing, I just…well, I miss my father." Integra answered. "Silly, isn't it? Me, Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing, head of the Hellsing family and Organization, misses her father."

"Not at all Sir. If I may ask, what happened to him?"

"He died, when I was a few years younger than you. Lung cancer, from a few too many cigars, made an old bullet wound worse. I was still so young back then…" she answered, sitting down at the table of used targets with Marcus. "He was one of the best; there was nothing he couldn't handle. He somehow found time to run the Organization, protect all of England, and raise me alone, my mother having died of malaria when I was two. And I… I can't even keep vampires out of my home. I couldn't stop those freaks from killing your family, I can't run this organization without that vampire's help, I can't even get all of my paperwork done! How am I supposed to protect all of England when I can't even properly defend my home?"

She paused and looked up at him with a sad smile. "You must think of me as a weakling," then her face grew hard. "but one word of this to anyone, and you will be in the worst orphanage in the country."

"I don't think of you as weak, Sir Hellsing…" Marcus said.

"Oh, then how do you think of me?" she said, eyes narrowing threateningly.

"I think you're glorious." was his quiet reply.

She stopped, and sat there for a moment with her mouth agape, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"I'll be retiring to my room, sir, if you need me for anything else. Goodnight Sir Integra." he said respectfully. Marcus got up, pushed in his chair, and walked into the armory.

In the fluorescent light of the shooting range, Integra rested her head in her arms, and mouthed a silent thank you.


	5. Order 4: Traveling Music

(Author's Note: _Sees last three chapters. Eyes widen._ Oh my God, three chapters in three days. I think that's a record. _Sulks._ I have no life whatsoever. All I have is my fic, anime, and you, my fans. _Looks up at empty audience, sweat drops._ Crap. On a more serious note, no pun intended, I suggest you have music playing in the background when you read this, namely "Hey Mama", "The World without Logos", any techno you may or may not have, and "Somebody Told Me". Also advised is anything in the actual story.)

Order 4: Traveling Music

"It seems that the vampire in question was a fledgling, similar to Miss Victoria, in that she had limited supernatural abilities beyond heightened senses, strength, and speed. Fortunately, Mr. Banks was able to kill the target, with the help of both Captain Bernadette, and Miss Victoria. Unfortunately, this was before we could gather any information on its reasons for attacking us," said Walter. They were the library, Marcus, Seras, Pip, Sir Integra, Alucard, and of course Walter, discussing the events of the previous night.

Sir Integra sat with her hands folded in front of her, as always, next to Pip, who cleaned his fingers with a butter knife he had stolen from the dinner table. On the other side sat Seras, trying to pay attention, but couldn't help glaring at Pip for being so rude. Marcus sat next to Alucard, whose head was bent low, so that his hat covered his entire face. He seemed to be asleep.

Sir Integra now addressed the group. "Mr. Banks, Officer Victoria, Captain, and Alucard will all go take a trip to Moscow, to see if we can gather any information. Your plane will leave at eight o'clock tonight, so make sure that you get ready. You are to meet one Demetrius Gustafson at the Cathedral of St. Thomas. He says he has information to offer on the matter of our mystery vampire that he will sell to us for the equivalent of thirty million pounds. See if you can bring down the price, and stay off the radar. I don't want any Russian officials finding out we have enough arms to bring down the entire city. That is all. You are dismissed."

Marcus checked his suitcase for the third time, making sure that he had cold weather clothes, boots, formal wear for attending meeting, _Archangel_s, extra ammo, and his new mp3 player. He had just received player from Sir Integra, whom he expected thought he needed to be paid off to ensure his zipped lips. He didn't like the lack of trust, but liked having his music with him as he trained.

"Are you done yet?" came Pip's voice from the door way. He looked incredibly out of place without his usual Britannica Cowboy get-up, instead wearing a black suit that offset the color of his blonde hair well with its white tie. "I don't think I could last the entire plane ride to Moscow in this straight jacket."

Marcus looked down at his own un-tucked, unbuttoned, blue over shirt which revealed a revealed a white t-shirt and silver cross. He liked the feeling of the silver around his neck, but agreed with Pip on the dress code. They were to be brothers on their way to bury their uncle and cousin in the Siberian country side.

"I didn't know Walter was a tailor though. Not that bad of a job… on the t-shirt," he said with a grin which Pip returned.

Sir Integra met them at the door with Walter. On the site of his hard work going to waste, Walter kept silent. Marcus still saw his eye twitch a little as they walked down the stairs nonetheless.

"Have a safe journey. Make sure you follow my instructions and for heaven's sake, keep out of trouble for once!" Integra yelled at a two long boxes that were being carried outside to the car. Turning to Marcus and Pip, she added "The same applies for you two as well."

Pip shrugged and walked outside to the car, lighting up a cigarette on the way with Marcus. On the ride to Moscow, he listened to all of his Red Hot Chili Peppers songs, along with a little Offspring thrown in.

"How goes that "Russian made Easy" bit you downloaded?" asked Pip when they were over Denmark, to which he answered with an "Easy as pie."

They arrived a little late, but managed to find their hotel without much trouble. When they got the coffins in and closed the window blinds, they let Alucard and Seras out of their beds to get up and stretch a little before meeting Demetrius.

"Do we expect any trouble from him?" Marcus asked Alucard, as he loaded his _Archangel_s.

"Actually, yes we do," he said with his patented Alucard Grin T.M.

"Why?"

"The Cathedral of St. Thomas… is a Catholic Church," he said with a knowing glance at Seras and Pip. Seras made several noises that resembled that of a small, scared mammal and clutched at her throat, where the marks didn't come from only her master. Pip merely grunted and checked to make sure his gun was loaded, twice.

It was night time now, and the air was cooler than it had been in Britain, but no one took notice. They exited the hotel and walked across town, Alucard leading the way while looking at his feet, Seras striding to keep up with her master, followed by Pip and Marcus, who had his mp3 player. If any of them cared to lean closer to their new comrade, they would hear his favorite song: "One Winged Angel", by Nobuo Uematsu. They were about ten minutes away from the hotel when Alucard stopped and turned back to grin at Marcus.

"Where ever did you get such a wonderful song?" asked the vampire.

Marcus looked at him confusedly, when suddenly he heard a voice in his head: _I can read your mind, being a vampire and all, you know…_

"Oh right! I saw him live at a concert once. It was awesome," he said, smiling at the nosferatu. He met Alucard's gaze, and had the sudden sense that he was being examined from all angles again. Suddenly, Pip and Seras perked up their heads and smiled as Alucard transferred the song to them telepathically.

Smiling, they all walked a little more confidently as they made their way through the Russian capital. Alucard continued to transfer them songs from Marcus, including "Sweet Dreams", "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" (which Alucard particularly enjoyed), and "Can't Stop".

As they got into sight of the Cathedral of St. Thomas, the mood grew tense. Seras's police instincts kicked in. This was somewhere she wasn't wanted, like the slums of her London home. At the gate surrounding the Cathedral, they stopped and stared at it.

It was a monstrous site, with three towers in the front and one in the rear to make it look like a giant cross from above. The front tower was the bell tower, which hadn't been used for decades, having been made inconsequential due to recordings of the call to mass. Sculptures of angels stared down on the four Hellsing employees, and gave off the distinct impression that they were being barred from the holy place. The original brick work still was in place, but some parts had been replaced to keep the structure intact. It was all surrounded by an iron gate which was rusting near the bottom and showed work of recent soldering. Alucard made to open the gate, and the four of them heard the gate squeak open.

"Pip, Marcus, Police girl and I will wait here for you once you are finished with Demetrius. If you need help, scream…" he flashed a fanged smile. "I'll come running."

The French mercenary and the English soldier walked up to the main door of the church and opened it. Moonlight streamed in through the clerestory windows down to the font, where both Pip and Marcus crossed themselves after dipping their hands in the holy water. No lights were on, the only source of illumination being the moon. The shadows beyond the ionic columns revealed wall murals of the twelve Stations of the Cross, the battle between the God and Satan, and the birth of the baby Jesus upon closer inspection. As they approached pulpit, they heard a door open to their right.

Out of the transept walked two women, one dressed in the traditional nun's robe and large round glasses, and the other oddly dressed as a priest, though her glasses were smaller. When they were about five yards away, the women stopped and the nun spoke.

"Welcome to the Cathedral of St. Thomas the Doubtful. I am Sister Yumiko Takahshi, and this is Sister Heinkel Wulfe. How may we help you?" she asked politely.

"We have come to see Demetrius Gustafson," said Pip simply. The nun seemed to tense up for a moment, and her companion answered in a strangely foreboding voice.

"I see. We will take you to him. Please follow." She led them through the rood screen and into the choir. "He is on your left, in the chapel…"

Marcus opened the door, but there was no one in the small chamber. "Where is Demetrius?" he asked quizzically.

"He is dead, heretic, as you will be as well for defying the laws of our Lord, if you don't do as we say," Yumiko answered in a different voice than the one she had used upon their entry. The Hellsing soldiers spun around to see that she had removed her glasses and taken off her hood to reveal a wiry mass of jet black hair. In her hand was a katana, easily as sharp as a guillotine blade. Heinkel had drawn two semi-automatic pistols from inside her robes and now glared at them over her glasses.

"Step outside, into the nave." ordered Yumie. Marcus and Pip stepped outside. Marcus's eyes were wide in shock as he did as he was told, though Pip face was smug as he winked at Marcus. They stepped out into the aisle with their hands behind their heads. "Who is this young one? We were unaware that you were corrupting the youth, blaspheming pig."

"My name is Peregrine Bernadette to you, zealous whore," answered Pip. Heinkel whacked on the side of the head with the butt of her gun. "His name is Marcus Banks, but you don't need to know that. I just figured it would be nice to let you know who your killer is."

"You seem awfully cocky for someone who just fell into a trap. In case you haven't noticed you are being held at gun point…and at sword point," said Yumie as she shoved her katana under Marcus's chin. At this move, he did the one thing he knew would get him out of this, the one thing that would keep him from getting killed by a nun (_Albeit a very, very, hot one_, he thought to himself) with a blade longer than his arm.

He screamed.

Suddenly, the shadows in the room started to move, like how you waves move on the open sea on a pitch black night. They swarmed around the room, enveloping everything but the crucifix hanging above the door. Heinkel shot wildly, trying to pin down the source of the power, but only damaged the murals.

At the entrance of the church, everyone heard the doors open with an echoing boom. There stood Alucard, smiling like a devil out of Hell. In the night's gloom, they only saw his flaming red eyes and shining white fangs, only heard his malicious laugh as the No Life King entered the Cathedral. Out of the solid mass of darkness that was Alucard, red and black centipedes emerged, scurrying towards the two Catholics.

Heinkel screamed and unloaded several rounds into the crawling insects, but it did nothing to halt their approach. Yumie leaped to a pew, and pulled out a vial of holy water, which she poured on herself, providing a kind of body armor. This did stop Alucard, so he focused his attention on overrunning Heinkel.

In his head, Marcus heard a familiar voice: _Police Girl can't get up there either, and Captain Bernadette would be sliced in half. Are you really going to be beaten by a little Catholic school girl?_ He drew his _Archangel_s and jumped onto a pew five rows down from Yumie.

Yumie grinned at him from her circle, and yelled across to him "Finally, another human to fight. You have no idea how tiresome fighting immortals can be, little boy," she taunted.

"Though you may be talented indeed, Miss, I assure you, _you will fall_." he yelled, in a voice that made Alucard laugh in his head.

"Oh, do you now?" sneered the nun and flew to the air to come down at him with a powerful swing.

Marcus unloaded three shots that missed at her before taking a back flip onto the pew behind him. When he righted himself, he was met by a flurry of attacks from Yumie, as she tried to take advantage of her blades length. He blocked each one to her dismay. Now it was his turn to attack. With his left hand, he shot out in a punch that turned his _Archangel_ into a brass knuckle and blocked a horizontal slice with his right. His blow knocked her off the pew, but she managed to grab his sleeve, effectively dragging him down as well.

Panic welled in his eyes on his descent on to the Midian-infested tiles. The holy water protected Yumie from Alucard, who he let hit the floor. At once, the crawling centipedes gathered under him, catching his fall. Caught off guard, Marcus was soon thrown back into the air as the vampiric insects surged up underneath him like a geyser. From his elevated position, he could now see the designs in the stone holding the roof up. Flipping over, Marcus was met by a flock of wings and fur as Alucard's bats gathered behind him, coalescing into great black crow wings, at least five feet long each.

_Just because I can't touch that Catholic psychopath doesn't mean that I can't help _you_ slice her to ribbons. Simply think of what you want the wings to do and they are yours. Needless to say, though, you owe me for this,_ said Alucard in his mind, with a grim smile. Marcus glanced down at Yumie, now far below, sword held at the ready. Giving his best Alucard Smile TM, he aimed his _Archangel_s at the nun and sent his last rounds into her arms. The silver bullets pierced her flesh like a jackhammer, knocking her to the ground. He swooped down, and with a flap of his borrowed wings, landed deftly on the ground.

Walking over to her panting form, Marcus studied her features. There was pain there, surely, but also a level of respect he had never seen before; she had been beaten. She may not like it, but she was mature enough to acknowledge it. Taking a step closer, Yumie spat at his feet, but he picked up her sword, sheathed it, and set it on a pew.

_Aww, and I was in the mood for a good impaling. I haven't been able to do one of those in a long time,_ Alucard snickered in his mind. The nosferatu transformed back into his humanoid form and drew out his _Jackal_ with a wicked grin. Pressing the gun barrel to Yumie's forehead, he clicked back the hammer and started to speak, but was interrupted by Marcus.

"Don't do it Alucard. She was just doing her job, same as us," he said, trying to sound as assertive as he could. Alucard laughed at him and sneered.

"And I would have thought you would want her dead, seeing as this little slip of a nun almost made you wet yourself," he remarked, but holstered his weapon with a small growl.

To Yumie, Marcus said "Your partner is alive, and you have your own life. Now tell me, who do you work for?"

"My work is that of God's work. I am an assassin for the Vatican's Secret Agency, codenamed the Iscariot Agency, XIII. Hellsing must be a little more incompetent than I had thought, if you weren't briefed on us yet," she replied with a forced laugh.

"Funny, and I thought we were the victorious here, or do you need to lose again to allow it to sink in. I had heard that Catholic skulls became thicker with each mind-numbing mass," Marcus said with a glare.

Pip now came in running, guns drawn and battle ready. "Alucard! Marcus! I found an Iscariot car parked in the…back" he said noticing the two downed assassins. "Oh."

"Is the fight over?" Seras called from outside.

"Yes Police-Girl, go get a first aid kit and bring it here. Apparently, the whelp wants to keep women alive…" said Alucard, now thoroughly annoyed, with a glare at Marcus, who laughed nervously.

Alucard then left, saying he was going back to the hotel, after tying up the nuns with some rope Pip found in a closet. Seras could be heard running after him, asking how the fight went. Pip went outside and sat on the steps, lighting up a cigarette, and watching the back of Seras go after Alucard. After tightening the knots holding the Catholics together, he looked quizzically at Yumie, who had remained still the whole time.

"Why don't you try to untie yourself?" he asked.

"You have defeated me in battle, albeit with that demon's help. I am yours to command…for the time being. Besides, I can't go very far with your bullet holes in my arms," Yumie said. Next to her Heinkel started to stir, groaning about the pain in what sounded like Austrian. "One question, though," said Yumie.

"Shoot,"

"Why not kill me? You could have let that demon put a bullet in my head, but instead spared my life. Why?"

Taking a hard look into her brown eyes, Marcus walked over, sheathed his _Archangel_s, and reached into one of his jacket pockets. Fearing he actually would kill her, she closed her eyes as she heard him kneel down next to her and slip something around her head… and into her ears? Opening her eyes up, she saw him walk out the door, not saying a word to her. Piano music started to flow into her ears. Recognizing the sound, she hung her head in shame and sniffled a few times. In her lap lay an mp3 player.

The song playing was "Imagine", by John Lennon.


	6. Order 5: Afterwards

(Author's Note: _Reads last chapter, cries, dies, is resurrected by invisible dolphin shamans._ Well, I do believe that was a good last chapter. Thank you Kitsunia, as usual, alucard's conscience, and TornadoReviewer for your support, suggestions, and general goodwill towards your fellow, if much crappier, author of fan fiction. _Pauses._ No, I won't do it. I will not acknowledge the fact that my audience is non-existent. IT'S NOT TRUE! IT'S NOT TRUE! By the way, I am making up scripture here, please don't take it seriously! _Gets stabbed to death by Anderson (for extreme heresy), Anderson walks off, Z is resurrected by invisible dolphin shamans._)

Order 5:

Back at the hotel, Marcus walked into the room to find nothing unusual. If your idea of unusual did not include a Midian cleaning two very large guns on a coffee table and his fledgling screaming at one-eyed Frenchman, who was arguing back.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY YOU WANTED TO USE THE LOO! BULLSHIT, YOU WANTED TO SEE ME NAKED! AGAIN!" hollered Seras, clutching a towel around her chest. Her hair was still wet, and there was steam coming from the bathroom, cluing Marcus in on her shower.

Smiling, Pip replied "It is not my fault that I happen to forget what you are doing all the time. This was just an accident."

"IT'S THE THIRD TIME THIS WEEK!"

Sighing, Marcus went into his room, took off his battle gear, and donned a t-shirt and khakis. Walking back to the living room (of course they can afford it), he sat on the couch, wishing he still had his mp3 player.

_Though I personally disapprove of your choices tonight, my Master would be greatly pleased by the way you handled yourself tonight. You mastered flight faster than even Walter did; and he was the Angel of Death,_ came thoughts that were not his own. He turned to Alucard, who was putting away his guns. He had hung up his hat and coat, and set his glasses and guns on the table on the table, letting his shoulder length ebony hair frame his face.

For a while, Alucard sat there, thinking whatever demon-logic presented him with. Something was amiss, but what? Had he made a mistake? He recognized something, but could not put his gloved finger on it. He was about to continue down this mental path when he saw that Marcus had walked over to the shelf opposite him.

Marcus stood there for a moment, and then his body started shuddering slightly. Alucard was about to ask if he was alright when he smelled something he had not smelled in a little over ten years…human tears. With a cry of anger, Marcus swept all the objects off the shelf and onto the floor. Tears were coming unrelenting down his face now as he ran to a near by Victorian chair and kicked into the sofa. He picked up a lamp and threw it against the wall. He up-ended a table. He raged. He screamed. He cried.

"Is that all you have to say, you monster! Is that it? You and your kind take away my family, my house, my whole world! And all you have to say is some stupid complement on how I fly well? How dare you! Go to Hell!" he roared. With that he grabbed Alucard's Jackal, took aim with his shaking hand, and fired. The force of the gun threw the boy bodily into the wall behind him which knocked him unconscious. His shoot had been terribly wide, though it did manage to destroy the Victorian chair completely.

Seras and Pip were now peering into the room from their respective rooms (now fully clothed).

"What happened Master?" asked Seras.

"Nothing Police Girl, just a young man dealing with loss…" said the nosferatu. Alucard got up and walked over to the pile of trinkets that had been knocked off the shelf, and starred at it for a second. Not saying a word, he then walked over to Marcus, picked him up, and laid him onto his bed in his room. "Humans really are such emotional creatures. I'm going to sleep now. Good day," and with that, Alucard went to his room and closed the door.

Now thoroughly confused, Seras started to whine. "How come Master never explains what is going on? Not all of us ha-"

"Quiet Seras," said Pip. He had walked over to the pile of trinkets and picked up an object from underneath a candlestick. It was a picture of a smiling family that he recognized as the owner of the hotel's. They were all smiling and enjoying a cook-out in the country.

When Marcus awoke, all of his things were packed and his clothes for the day laid out for him. Walking out, he sat down at the kitchenette's bar where Pip was pouring orange juice. The mercenary glanced at him only once, then got down another glass and poured Marcus some juice.

Silence hung in the room, only punctuated by the swallowing of the orange juice. Finally Marcus broke the silence.

"I take it you heard all that last night?" Pip nodded.

"Sorry I bothered you captain, I-"

"You don't need to explain _mon ami_. Anyone who loses a loved one is entitled to a shout every now and then. You were upset and lashed out at whoever was nearest to you, though I must say you could have picked a better choice," said the Frenchman. "Now, however, we need to get out of Moscow. The Catholics probably know where we are, and I wouldn't put it passed them to send in another team to kill us. The vampires are asleep in their coffins and all our stuff is packed, so all we have to do is check out and leave!" he said brightly.

Marcus smiled and went to get dressed. Throwing on a red T-shirt and black cargo pants, he and Pip loaded their things into the rental car, checked out of the hotel, and drove out of the parking lot. As they drove threw downtown Moscow, he and Pip started singing a song about Eskimos at the top of their lungs with huge grins on their faces. Though he may have been hearing things, he was pretty sure he heard some moans from Seras's coffin during their march.

The car stopped a pay phone in a quiet side of the town, where Pip got out to make a call. As Marcus waited in the car, he hummed to his captain's march and drummed his fingers on the arm rest.

"Here, take it…" said a voice from the window that startled him. A figure in a black dress handed him a small rectangular item. He looked into his hands to see his mp3 player. Looking up, he saw a woman in a nun's outfit hurriedly turn around a corner and out of sight. After blinking several times, he smiled. _I think I made a friend…_

Pip got back into the car with a notepad in his hand. "Okay," he said. "Orders from Sir Integra are to head back to London immediately. Being in another country, we are way out of our jurisdiction, and as we have no reason to be here anymore, it's time to go home."

"Any more leads on the ice bitch?"

"No, unfortunately the trails ran cold. She doesn't say anything else either according to Walter. No 'How are you doing?' or 'Have you had a nice trip?' or 'Are you all still alive?' no nothing!" ranted Pip. "You would think she didn't care about us…" he pouted.

They drove to the airport where a private plane came to pick them up. After tipping the customs officials, they were on their way. Somewhere over the North Sea, Pip came over to talk to Marcus.

"Say Marcus… some of my men were wondering, and I was wondering too, why do you think Sir Integra treats you so special?" he inquired.

"I don't know…" Marcus replied uncomfortably. He had been wondering about this as well. "I think it's because of what happened to me… and I'm still a kid. The room's not all that great. It can get kinda cold in the winter time Walter said…" he stopped as Pip shook his head.

"No no no, we were all wondering why she had Walter stand outside your room every night. And why she really came down hard on Seras for fighting you. She's been doing a lot for you, like make sure that _I_ was the one who trained you as well as I could, making sure you get the weapon that's best for you, and of course the room. I've even seen a lot of bat's fly past your window, if you know what I mean…" he said with a nod to Alucard's coffin.

Marcus stared at him in bewilderment. "I haven't seen any of that. I thought that she was just being nice with the room, but I had no idea about the rest of the stuff. Did she really do all of that? All the things you've said?"

"And maybe more," replied Pip. He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Sir Integra rarely ever shows anyone any kind of compassion, except maybe Walter. She does care about her soldiers a lot, but has a strong sense of tough love. Maybe you should ask her when we get back."

They landed shortly after midnight in London, where Walter waited in a car to pick them up. Marcus considered asking him if Pip's rumors had some solidity to them, but decided to ask Sir Integra instead. While he had no problem with Walter, the old man and Marcus had never actually talked. Deep down, he wondered why Sir Integra kept him around. He had to be around sixty, though from the work he got, you would think he was in his prime. The guy was always doing something, whether it be repairing weapons, sweeping the halls, or making Sir Integra's tea. It seemed rather cruel of Integra to force all this work on one man when he should be in a retirement home, doing the things he loved instead of trying to keep up with the Hellsing Organization. Still, he had his uses still, Marcus thought. He joked to himself that if he ever needed some company late at night though, he had it.

On the way back, Walter and Pip were talking about the attack at the cathedral to themselves, leaving Marcus in the back to watch over the coffins. They couldn't be strapped down, and Walter said that Alucard would get angry if he was stowed away like luggage, so he and the butler loaded them on top of each other in the back seat leaving just enough room for Marcus to buckle-up.

Getting tired of seeing the same green blur of the trees and bushes speed by, Marcus turned to look inside the vehicle. As he looked at the two boxes, he took off his earphones and put a hand on Seras's coffin. It was fairly new he guessed, without any scratches or dents in the wood that showed it was fairly well looked after. He would have guessed that Seras would want to keep her bed tidy. The other coffin though, was different. Alucard's tomb was made of rich black wood, maybe ebony. It was polished with such care that the light from car reflected off the edges like it was a hunk of obsidian.

Marcus slowly lowered his hand from Seras's coffin to her master's. As his finger tips grew closer, it seemed that he could hear something from inside it, but he wasn't sure what it was. His hand was about to grab onto the box when he saw a gloved hand shoot out and grab his wrist, hard. His eyes followed the arm up to lock eyes with Pip's. Though they stared straight at him, Marcus got the sense that his captain wasn't all…there.

"Get your hand off my coffin…" Pip said in a stranger voice that did not belong to him. Marcus eyes widened as his tutor's grip on his hand turned from hard to painful. "Do not touch my coffin."

"Alucard, please release Captain Bernadette's mind. I can't have any distractions while I drive." said Walter. At once the mercenary blinked, the odd look gone from his eyes. He looked at his hand, saw his fingers digging into Marcus's wrist, and hastily apologized. Marcus stared at Walter the rest of the ride.

Pulling in front of the Hellsing mansion, Marcus moved to help Walter with the luggage as Pip strode in through the front doors. Casting a dry look at Pip's retreating form, he sighed and picked up his bags and one of Seras's.

"Oh don't worry about that, Mr. Banks. I'll be bringing them to your rooms," said Walter.

"No, don't worry about it. You go inside, I'll take care of these-

"I assure you Mr. Banks, I am quite capable of carrying these inside," interrupted Walter with an even tone in his voice that Marcus didn't catch.

"Don't be ridiculous, you might break your hip or something. Imagine an old man like you trying to lug these ammo cases around!" said Marcus with a laugh. As he walked into the mansion, he didn't see Walter's cheery disposition slip into annoyed frustration.

After putting the luggage away, he went to Sir Integra's office to look for Pip. He knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" came Sir Integra's sharp question.

"Private Banks Sir, I was looking for Captain Bernadette," Marcus said in the military tone he had practiced in his head.

"J-Just a second!" Integra said.

A few footsteps and an opened door later, he was standing next to Pip who was glancing at him nervously, though he was facing Integra.

"Private Banks, I would like to hear your view of the attack in the St. Thomas Cathedral, as Captain Bernadette said he was absent for most of the sortie."

So Marcus told her what happened from their arrival at the holy ground to their departure. He decided to leave out the part about his mp3 player, as he was sure this would be a bad idea. After finishing his story, he stole a glance from Pip, who winked at him. Or it may have been a blink, he couldn't tell with the eye patch. Sir Integra seemed satisfied with the story, as he was then dismissed. She did ask for Pip to stay behind to discuss the journey, but he was already on his way to his room.

Once there Marcus flopped down on his bed. Reaching into his pocket, he got out his mp3 player and felt the smooth plastic and "metal" skin of the outside shell. Smiling, he placed it on his dresser and walked out to the balcony. With a sigh, he sat down on the balcony's ledge with his back leaning against the building's wall. There was a breeze in the night sky that blew his hair around his face, making him tuck in behind an ear.

He was sitting there for almost ten minutes, just gazing into the night sky when he heard a chuckle from above him. With a gasp, Marcus stood up to see Alucard standing over him, his feet planted firmly on the sides of the wall as if he were standing on solid ground. The vampire had that sly grin plastered on his face of one who knows too much for his own good.

"Though you seem to deny it, we are actually quite similar…" said Alucard.

With a gulp, Marcus responded. "What do you mean?"

"For instance, you see how old Walter is getting. Maybe no one told you, but I think a look into the file marked "Angel of Death" would clear up any foolish notions you have of the man. And while you're in the archives you may want to also research the history of the Iscariot Agency. Even your mind should be able to see the logic in that." He paused, the said "There are also two other differences between us Marcus Banks, but I will only reveal one of them: we both love what we can't have."

With that, the nosferatu walked into a shadow in the wall and was gone, leaving Marcus blushing and thoroughly confused. _Damn he's good at finding things I try to hide,_ Marcus thought. "Can I help it if I notice nun's a freaking hottie!" he shouted to the night. It must have heard him, because he heard that chuckle again as he closed the doors to the balcony.

(Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update this one. I had a short problem with bayonets recently that kept me pretty tied. Sorry. Also, Anderson will have his time to shine in a later chapter…I have big plans for our favorite Scottish, bayonet wielding, Catholic assassin. And in case someone tries to dispute me on the matter of Yumiko's hotness, just look at the picture of her in volume two, page 173 of the manga when she's wearing that little maid's outfit and she looks soooo freaking cute. And Yumie! Wow. She is one sexy mama! Straight women, trust me, you would want her too. Ahhhhh! _Is chased offstage by a certain katana wielding nun. Then runs across stage in the opposite direction. Then does it again. And again. And again. And again. And again…)_


	7. Order 6: Music of the Night

(Author's Note: And now it's time for chapter seven! Yay! Chapter 7 time! Woohoo! _Pulls out noisemakers and balloons and confetti fall from ceiling._ Yeah! Partay! Woo…yeah… _Sulks_. Sigh, I wish I could dance better. Maybe I will have sheiro2 teach me… _Sheiro2 sneaks up behind him with a grin, knocks him unconscious with a shinai, walks off stage whistling._ _Z lays there for a while._ I still say that the foil is better… Also please take note of the title! **Warning: very, very romantic!**)

Order 6: Music of the Night

As Marcus lay there, the sun shone through the window on his bed. His eyes shot open. _Now I'll see if he really is there!_ he thought with a grin. Padding over the floor to the door on tippy-toes, he could almost hear the Mission: Impossible theme. His hand sweating, Marcus reached down and-

"Good morning Mr. Banks! I heard you waking up so I decided to see how you are dealing with your new accommodations. Uhh…Mr. Banks…what are you doing on the floor?" Walter said, unaware that in opening the door, he had knocked it right into Marcus's face.

"Nothing Walter, and I'm doing alright," came his grumbling reply as he got up and brushed himself off.

"Well I also came to tell you that today is your day off. While I'm here, I would like to go over a few house rules that are in effect," said Walter while pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket. "Do not disturb Sir Integra unless it is an emergency, do not take weapons from the armory outside of the armory or shooting range, do not break anything in the mansion, do not go into the any rooms marked with a large blood-written pentagram, do not eat to much food, and _gasp_ return to the mansion by curfew. Will there be any problem with these rules?"

Marcus stared at him. "No."

"Excellent! Now the rest of the mansion is open to you today, so you may explore any rooms you wish as long as they are not specified in the rules. You may also elect to go into London for recreation with some of the other men, but seeing as you are a minor, must return by curfew, as stated in the rules. If you require anything else, just find me," he said and left the room.

After breakfast, he decided to follow Alucard's advice and visit the archives. Asking one of the men for directions, he found the library doors. Inside, he couldn't help but admire the fact that it made his old public library look like a joke. All the walls were lined with book cases, with only a few spots for computer stations for internet research and electronic cataloging. Light streamed in through windows on the vaulted ceiling that was adorned with a large painting of angels among clouds.

"Can I help you young man?" asked a light voice to his left. Turning, Marcus saw a tall brunette sitting at a computer. She looked to be about twenty-three, with a shapely figure and long, smooth legs. She was wearing a black button down top with rolled up sleeves (He couldn't help but notice that the first few buttons were left undone, giving him a nice view from his position), and a knee length skirt. He green eyes looked at him curiously over half circle glasses that were placed on the end of her nose.

"I-I'm looking for information on Section XIII ma'am," Marcus replied with a blush.

"Ah, you must be Marcus Banks, the new recruit. I think what you are looking for is over here," she said with a smile. "My name is Celia Chapman. I'm the librarian and archivist of the Hellsing Organization. Any books or information that comes into us goes through me, so if you have any questions, just give a shout."

They walked up to a large bookcase, and she dragged her finger across the spines of the books as she walked, looking at the titles. "Ah, here it is," she said. Pointing down to the next shelf down, she said "These are all the files we have on Section XII, the Iscariot Agency. The first few books talk about its history, and then they go on to the agency's personnel, known bases, former heads, prayers, and their conflict with Hellsing. Is there anything else you may need?"

"N-No Ms. Chapman. Thank you."

Smiling, she said "Such a nice, polite boy…" and walked off. Marcus watched her go, sighed, and started his research.

"Hey, there ya' are Marcus," said Pip while walking into the library with Seras. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing important," he said while folding up and pocketing Yumiko's file. "Just doing some research on Iscariot.'

"Good idea. Listen, Seras and me were going into London this afternoon with some of the guys and were wondering if you wanted to come?"

"Sure I would! I haven't gotten a chance to leave the mansion since our trip." He got up and brought the materials to the front desk. "Ms. Chapman? I finished my research."

"Oh good. Just give those to me and I will see that they get properly shelved. Hello Captain, Seras," she said with that same dazzling smile.

"Say Celia, would you care to join us for a night on the town?" asked Pip hopefully. Seras rolled her eyes next to him.

"I'm sorry Captain, but it seems that someone ordered a large shipment of French pornography for the library. They paid in cash, so I wasn't able to trace it," she said with a sly look at Pip, who was suddenly sweating rather hard. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

"Oh no! I-I know absolutely nothing at all! Maybe one of the men did it! I think I'll ask them later…uh now we have to go now! Bye!" replied the mercenary, almost shouting as he pushed Seras and Marcus out the door.

In the car ride into town, Seras and Marcus talked about _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, which they both enjoyed a lot.

"Puck has got to be the coolest being alive! I mean, he isn't completely evil like some people think, but is really just a well-meaning trickster out for a good time. And Bottom! What an ass! Hahaha! Get it?" said Marcus with a laugh. Seras and he talked like this until they got to the pub where they were going.

It was a nice place, though it smelled a little too much like cigar smoke and whiskey. They all got a table in the back and ordered drinks (root beer for Marcus and nothing for Seras) and mozzarella sticks from the busty waitress that Pip several of the men couldn't keep their eyes off of. They stayed and talked for about two hours, enjoying the food and each other's company.

It was about 7:15 when Marcus asked "'Why doesn't Sir Integra join us? I'm sure she has a lot of work to do, but you would think she would want a break from the paper work every once and a while."

Everyone stopped and starred at him for a good minute before they all broke out in laughter. Pip gripped his sides and spat out the beer he was drinking. Even Seras couldn't control herself and ended up falling out of her chair laughing.

"Marcus, Sir Integra hasn't taken a break in all of the time she's been head of the Hellsing Organization. That woman probably wouldn't know what to do if she had any time to herself, since she's always stuck in her office doing paperwork," said Pip once he had gotten a hold of himself. Smiling, he continued "Still, I'm sure that she would end up doing something boring like going to see an opera or visiting an art gallery. That woman needs to learn to have a good time."

Several of the men nodded to this, though Seras just glared at the Frenchman like a toad. They left later and went to go to a movie theater. On sight of the new releases, Marcus fell over laughing.

"Marcus? What's so fun- Ahahahahhahahahaha!" Seras said and Pip soon broke out into hysterics as well.

Playing at the theater was _Van Helsing_.

Needless to say, they walked out of the theater with varying thoughts.

Seras: _They did a horrible job of that! The only thing good was the special effects…and Hugh Jackman. Swoon!_

Marcus: _I think it was okay. It had really good action scenes, but I wonder about the machinegun-crossbow. I wonder if one of Sir Integra's ancestors worked for Iscariot? Maybe I'll ask her…_

Pip:_ KateBeckinsaleKateBeckinsaleKateBeckinsaleKate BeckinsaleKateBeckinsaleKateBeckinsaleKateBeckinsaleKateBeckinSaleKateBeckinsale_

When Pip wanted to go into a mall with Seras, Marcus declined and kept walking after promising to be back by curfew. He wandered the streets of London, watching all of the people and places. He had been to the city before, but had never gotten such a good look like this. He passes by Buckingham Palace (of course wondering if the Queen was there), saw a stray dog being fed by some children with their parents, and two lovers walking out of a chocolate shop talking quietly. He was making his way across a bridge when he thought he heard a sound.

It wasn't very loud at first, but as he got closer to the other side of the Thames, Marcus heard it get louder. Walking faster now, he followed his ears across the street and through the park. The crescent moon smiled down on him like a Chesire Cat. He turned around a grove of trees and came upon a small pond. He could now discern the sound away from the rest of the city's, and was surprised at what his ears and eyes told him.

Standing on a pavilion looking over the pond was a girl. She looked beautiful in the moonlight, her blonde hair shining like gold against her pure white strapless dress. She was surrounded by vines, their flowers perfuming the air around her. But more importantly, she was singing. The song had no words, just notes, or at least he couldn't hear them. She just sang out in her flowing soprano voice, not even stopping to draw breath. Marcus was enraptured. He stepped up onto the structure and stood in the archway, just starring at her beauty. When the song was over, all he could hear was the beating of his heart and his breath.

"Did you enjoy my song?" she asked in a soft voice that was as sweet as honey to his ears. It took him a while to find his voice.

"Yes, very, very much," Marcus replied. She turned from the pond to look at him. Her blond hair framed her face perfectly, her ruby colored lips smooth and tempting.

"I'm glad. My name is Gloria. What's your name?"

"Marcus."

"That's a nice name. Would you like to sit down?" she said, gesturing to a stone bench that he had not seen before. He walked over and sat down next to her, at a loss for words. "Tell me Marcus, what are you doing here so late at night? Were you hoping to meet someone?" Gloria asked while twirling her hair around her finger.

"I-I was…I…I don't know…" Glancing at his watch, Marcus saw that he only had an half an hour to get back to the car. "I had better go…I might be late to-

"Oh, please stay with me! I don't want to be alone. And besides, you have all night," she pleaded.

"Yes," he said, starring into her deep blue eyes. "I do have all night…"

"Why don't you stay here with me? I'm sure we can find something to do…" she said leaning into him. With one hand she held his hand and with the other caressed his face. She kissed him on the lips, her lips as smooth as cherries. She kissed him again, only this time didn't stop. He closed his eyes as passion overtook him and he started kissing her back. He couldn't stop, he didn't want to. She was so beautiful.

He embraced her in his arms, running his hands up and down her back. She started kissing his neck and took off his jacket leaning farther and farther over him until she was on top of him. He inhaled, catching the whiff of her hair mixed in with the flowers around her. He kissed her again, finding the zipper on the back of her dress and slowly bringing it down to the small of her back. She lifted off his shirt rubbing her hands on his chest as he started to do the same.

Now kissing her neck, Marcus heard Gloria say "Yes, we have all night."

(Author's Note: Oooh! Cliffhanger! Damn, that was pretty damn sexy, if I do say so myself. Though if you don't think so, please review and give me some pointers, this is my first time writing anything remotely romantic. Like Ms. Chapman? Yeah, I thought so. I think this has all the workings of a manga: big guns, kick-ass vampires, sexy ladies, perverted Frenchmen…well fine, all mangas don't have that but still…Yayyyyy Kat Beckinsale!)


	8. Order 7: The Siren\'s Song

(Author's Note: Yayyyy Updates! I am now on Chapter 8! I'm an octo-chapterian? Yeah, I don't get that either…damn my Dr. Seuss inspired word making up-ness! Any way, now that I don't have school, expect lots more chapters. Basically all I'm gonna be doing is summer school, working out, chores, and fanfiction. Until July 3rd that is, when I'll be going to central Wisconsin to work at my summer camp! Yay! _Runs off singing Napowan rouser._)

Order 7: The Siren's Song

"Where is that little punk? He was supposed to meet us here fifteen minutes ago!" complained one of the soldiers to Pip. "You know him, where would he be at 11:15 at night?"

Pip replied "I don't really know. Marcus usually makes a point of being punctual…well, I know that Sir Hellsing would be pissed off if we left without him, so we had better start looking for him," Pip suddenly took on a commanding attitude. "You three, check the theater, you three check by the mall, Seras, you check by Buckingham Palace, and I'll go check the Red Light District. All right men, lets move out!"

"Captain Peregrine Bernadette how could you possibly be thinking about sex when Marcus could be out there in God knows how much trouble!" yelled Seras.

"Now just one minute Seras. I'm just trying to think like any fifteen year old boy would. Plus, I have several friends who might have seen him in the area, so don't act all high and mighty when one of my men is missing!" answered Pip with no amount of humor in his voice. "You have your orders, now move out!"

Marcus Banks woke up to find he was not on the park bench that he thought he would be on. He was also keenly aware that Gloria was no where in sight and that he had only his boxers and pants on. But this was all cast aside in his mind when his eyes came into focus and he realized that he was tied up and gagged in a spartanly furnished apartment.

Panic seized him now as he realized that he had been tricked into coming here. He tried to stand, but fell flat on his face. Turning around, he saw that his feet were also bound. Crawling across the bare wood floor, he got on his knees and looked out of a window on the outside wall. All that he saw was the brick of the next building over. It was mid-morning now, and he could hear the traffic through the pane of glass.

He also started to hear footsteps outside of the door. The door opened to reveal a big man with no hair and too many tattoos carrying a brief case.

"I see you're awake, eh? That's fine. Just make sure you don't get any stupid ideas like trying to get out. My boys are in the lobby downstairs and won't lose sleep over shooting a little brat like you," he said with a sneer. Walking over he sat down on a poorly made chair and opened his shabby briefcase. From inside he pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Marcus's head.

"Now you are just going to stay put while I make some phone calls. Don't worry though, I'm not going to shoot to kill…heheheh," he said with no shortage of menace. All Marcus could do was sit down on the hard floor.

_How long have I been here? Where are Pip and Seras?_ he thought. _And Gloria? I should have left when I could, not stayed there and make out with her 'till I fell asleep…how could I have been so stupid! Now Sir Integra will be furious with me, if I ever see her again…_

Marcus looked back at his kidnapper. He was lighting up a cigarette while the cell phone rested against his shoulder. Whoever was on the other end must have picked up, because the man started talking.

"Yeah, it's Don. I got the kid. No. No, I didn't hurt him, he's alive and well for the time being. Yes…yes, I'm sorry I doubted you. That little bitch can sing like and angel. Yeah, he fell for it alright, hook, line, and sinker. Can't say I blame him though…yes I made sure to get her in her coffin! Do you think I'm- yes sir," his tone suddenly became very nervous and it was apparent that he said something he shouldn't have. Whoever was on the other line had Don in a place far below them. "Yes I know that you are my boss and I shouldn't raise my voice to you. I'm sorry sir. I'll have him at the docks by six o'clock. See ya' then."

With that, he hung up the phone and pulled a hamburger out of his case. Carrying the gun in his other hand, Don walked over and took off Marcus's gag.

"Eat kid and don't even think of biting my fingers," Don ordered while aiming his pistol at Marcus's head. Marcus ate gratefully, now just trying to not piss of the large man with the gun pointed at his temple.

When he was done he asked "Why have you taken me?" in a nervous voice.

Don grinned. "It seems that you are wanted by some employers of mine. I don't know what for, but they seemed very adamant that I was to get you at all costs. They even sent me Gloria to make sure I did it right. Now don't ask any more questions. I was told not to tell you anything." He put the gag back on and walked into the bathroom.

_Someone, anyone! Please help me! Please!_

Sir Integra was furious. After yelling at the men and Seras for letting him get kidnapped, she gave them all guard duty for the next month. Seras was now in her coffin sleeping, but the search still went on. Walter phoned the police, who said that they would begin a search. Pip called in all his contacts and told them to keep a weather eye out for a fifteen year old kid name Marcus. The mercenary then ordered his men to take to the streets.

"Not once, in five long years, have the Wild Geese left a man behind. We are looking for our newest friend, Marcus Banks, age fifteen. Fan out into the city and check every restaurant, every theater, every mall, and every alleyway until you find him. If anyone sees him, radio into H.Q. and bring him in. Now let's get into the cars and get on it!" Pip ordered. Sir Integra stood with Walter on the other side of the main hall and watched.

"He is doing an excellent job of leading the troops. They all really do like and respect him almost as much as they respect and fear you, Sir Integra," Walter remarked.

"Where do you think he is Walter? I want your professional opinion on this," said Sir Integra.

"I have come to the conclusion that this is either a kidnapping or a case of teen grief. If he was kidnapped, we should expect a call with a ransom demand around noon. But if this is a case of Marcus's sorrow over losing his parents clouding his reason, I don't know when he will be back…" the butler was quiet for some time.

Walter looked at Sir Integra and spoke in a quiet voice. "There is another reason for him not returning to us…think about it. Someone could know abou-

"No. That's impossible," She interrupted, her voice stern. "The only ones who know about him are you, Captain Bernadette, and myself, though I suppose Alucard has figured it out by now... Walter, I want you to take care of this. Find him, and bring him back to the mansion at all costs."

"Yes Sir Integra."

Don had left the apartment again. Marcus had given up trying to get anyone's attention by banging on the door. He was now seated on the couch, completely alone.

The hours dragged on. Left with no training, no guard duty, no mission, and no research to distract him, he felt his mind wander. He had really enjoyed himself last night, though now all he felt was frustration and embarrassment. Damn it all. Why did Don's employers want him? He had no answer to that. He thought of Gloria. Had last night been only about getting him to come with her to this place or did she like him? Where the Hell was she now? What had Don meant when he said…oh Hell and damnation she is a vampire!

Marcus doubled over as tears ran down his face. He had made love with a vampire. A freaking member of the undead! Sobbing, he fell to the floor, not even caring where he was. How could he ever be trusted again by Hellsing? How would he be able to face Sir Integra again after she had been kind enough to take him in and give him food and shelter? Now he was defiled, tainted. A sudden thought gripped him. A horrible, mind twisting thought.

Crawling as fast as he could, he went into the bathroom and somehow stood up to face the mirror. _Oh thank God! No bite marks…_he thought. At least he was not one of them now. He was still human. But for how long?

Marcus had fallen asleep on the couch, mentally exhausted. Evening was falling now, and from the bedroom a low creak came, as if an old door was being opened. Gloria got out of her coffin naked and went to the bathroom, splashing some water on her face. Grabbing a towel from the counter, she dried off her face and chest as the water trickled down her bust. She picked out two blue colored contacts that had fallen out of her eyes with the water. Last night she had hypnotized Marcus and gotten him to come here. She had spent most of the morning crying in shame. Crying tears of blood.

Walking out of the bathroom, Gloria saw Marcus asleep on the couch, bound and gagged like the prisoner he was. A sad look crossed her face. She walked over to him and sat down on the couch next to him, rubbing his back with her slender hands. She hated what she was doing, how she had to work for Don and the others. They had to force feed her blood for a week before she gave up and eventually became a master vampire.

_A whole lot of good that did me. Now here I am, monster working for humans against my will._ They kept her there because they had what she needed: a constant supply of human blood. Without them, she would either starve or get caught and killed by the Hellsing Organization. Her master had told her about them, and the monster they kept hidden, this "Alucard".

Glancing down at Marcus, she saw that Don had been a little too tight with the bonds and now the handcuffs were digging into Marcus's flesh, a tiny trickle of blood running down his wrist. She gasped and stood up, backing away from him even as her very nature told her to drink his blood. Breathing hard she, tripped over a chair and sat their on her butt, too afraid to go forward, too thirsty to go back. All she had had for the last few weeks was blood from Don's wrist, but she could smell Marcus's virgin blood (they hadn't gone _that_ far…).

It called out to her with its metallic scent, so tempting, so red, so warm…_No! I can't think like that! I am not a monster! I am not a monster! I am not a monster!_ But even as she thought that, she knew what she wanted.

Marcus stirred, awakened by her falling over the chair after hours of relative silence. Blinking, he sat up and saw her. At first he just sat there with no expression on his face. Then he seemed to register where he was and who she was. Marcus's eyes narrowed and his eyebrows lowered. He couldn't say a word, but his meaning was clear. With a sad sigh, Gloria got up and righted the chair. She then walked to the bed room, put on a robe and walked out to sit in the chair facing Marcus.

For a while she sat there as he glared daggers at her from the couch. Hanging her head in shame she started speaking in a small voice.

"I'm sorry Marcus. I didn't mean for you to get hurt. Don he…he forced me to do this to you. I know you probably don't believe me, but I am so, so, sorry…" She looked up at him to see that he had lost his glare. "I used to be a singer in the choir at my school in Liverpool. It was an all-girl's school. The other girls used to tease me, saying that I was too shy and quiet. I was never very popular. Then, after a recital in London, I was kidnapped. They didn't say what they wanted with me, they just told me to be quiet and not say a word. They brought me to a plane and we went to Brazil, where their boss was. They said…they said that they had killed all of the other girls and my teacher like he ordered them to. Their boss had also ordered them to bring me to him because he like the way I sang."

"I don't know his name, but he was short and fat. He was also a Nazi. I saw the swastika on his arm and on all the banners in the room. The other men left and he brought me into a room with a man in it. He said his name was Tubalcain Alhambra. He was black, with short grey hair and a white suit with a white hat. The boss told him to…he told him to bite me. That is how I became a vampire. I was kept in a small cell and forced to eat blood six months. It was torture." Gloria said.

She looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. "The only thing I could do to pass the time was sing. I sang every song I could think of. One day, while I was sleeping in there," she said pointing to the bedroom, "they brought me back here to London. They handed me over to Don, who kept me locked in the bedroom all night long. He would take me out during the day and beat me as the sun burned my skin. But he would always put me back in before I was toast," she hung her head and red tears rolled down her face into her crossed arms. "Sometimes, I wish he had left me to die there. Sometimes…I wished I had never been born at all. Now I'm a monster. I may as well be dead…"

Gloria broke down in sobs, covering her face with her hands. _I am a monster. I'm a horrible, horrible monster! I drink blood! I seduced Marcus, a boy I hardly know! I do terrible things, and now Marcus might die because of me!_ She heard a small "thump" and heard Marcus walk on his knees over too her.

He rested his head on her shoulder, smelling her sweet scent. Threw her arms around him and cried into his chest. They sat there for a while, until Gloria looked into Marcus's eyes and smiled sincerely.

"Thank you," she said.

Footsteps approached the door, heavy ones that told them Don was coming back. With a sad look at Marcus, she stood up and went to open the door for him.

"Good, you're awake. Hope she didn't get a little thirsty, eh kid?" he said with a harsh laugh. He grabbed Marcus's chin with a rough hand and lifted his head up. Tilting his head from side to side, he seemed satisfied that he had not been changed. "Good, she didn't. This one never did like the taste of blood. Had to force her to take it from my own wrists."

Standing up, he turned to Gloria with a nasty look on his face. "Now, little missy, I need you to sing our good friend to sleep here with a little song of yours. Once he's asleep, we can take him out the back way to the docks where he and you will go back to those Millennium freaks and I'll get my money." Taking his pistol out of his jacket pocket and cocked the hammer back. With a sneer, he stuffed ear plugs into his ears and aimed the gun at Gloria's head. "Now sing, girly."

She looked at him with a frightened glance and started to sing. He couldn't hear what she was saying (or else he would get knocked out to), but sure enough, the boy's eye's started to droop, and he fell over sideways on the couch. Don walked over, motioning for her to keep going, and felt his breathing. It was steady and even, so he told Gloria to stop singing. After picking out the ear plugs, he tossed them on the floor.

"Never did like those things in my head. Alright, open the door so I can carry him out," he said. She walked over and opened the door while he picked up the boy's unconscious body. They walked over to his car which was parked around back. He laid the boy in back seat and after buckling him in so he wouldn't wake up, told Gloria to get in as well. They drove out of the alleyway and through the neighborhood, almost hitting an old man as they rounded a corner.

"Hey watch where you're going asshole!" yelled Don as they drove on by in the direction of the London docks.

"I have visual confirmation of the target, Sir Integra. He is in the back seat of a bronze Dodge Intrepid, apparently unconscious," said Walter in a steady voice, smiling. He had his mouth pointed at his wrist, where a small two-way transmitter was held. "The vehicle is driven by a white, male, approximately six four with many tattoos on his arms and shoulders. He is accompanied by young girl, approximately five ten, with blond hair and red eyes. They have driven off in the direction of the docks. Permission to proceed with caution?"

"Permission granted Walter, but be careful. We don't know who these people are or what they plan to do with them. Stop them and bring them all back, alive if possible. I will send backup once I get in contact with Captain Bernadette's men."

"Affirmative. I will take a shorter route through the city so I can get there before them."

"God speed and good luck."

(Author's Note: Sorry Kitsunia, but I have to end with another cliffhanger. The chapter is getting quite long, so I will sign off here. Before I go, I would like to point out that I have no idea how to use the metric system practically without a meter stick, so I had Walter say Don's height in the standard system. I really hate that stupid thing. It is further proof that America is to belligerent for its own good. Can't wait to graduate from college so I can move to Japan. _Eyes start to sparkle as Z looks into the distance dreamily, Hallelujah chorus starts playing in the background._ Oh my God it's beautiful! Anime and Video Game Mecca! So close but so far away! On a side note, on the odd chance that anyone reading this goes to Barrington High School in Illinois, I will be starting an anime club next year!!! Wish me luck! And thank you oblivionknight7 for joining my small group of reviewers…which sadly includes me…)


	9. Order 8: Rescue and Revelations

(Author's Note: Sorry for the slight lack in posts…not that it was any longer than my last one…heheh…But now I'm back with a vengeance! _Strikes dramatic pose reminiscent of Alucard, Logos Naki World plays in background. Z holds position for several minutes. And several minutes more. And several minutes more. You get the idea._ Now forgive me for not having any male members of Iscariot in here, yet. They will come soon enough. Also, in the past few chapters, I inserted dividers of seven asterisks, but they don't seem to have shown up in the actual site. From now on I'll just use more space. It got really annoying to type in those little stars in each time. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews _sniff_, and your encouragement, _sniff_, and the time you took out of your lives for reading my fic._ Breaks out sobbing._ Thank you all so much! _Z pushes "play" on stereo, stereo plays triumphant Oscar music plays, Z is hands himself a bouquet, walks offstage with tears and doing the Queen's wave._)

Order 8: Rescue and Revelations

The car drove off through the streets of London. Unfortunately for Don, he was in fact in the English capitol, so he was instantly caught up in traffic. Gloria sat next to him, contacts back in, starring out the window. _She really is one hell of a girl,_ he thought to himself. The sun had just set but the western sky was still a lavender pastel punctuated by citrus oranges of clear sky. _Too bad she's a #$ing vamp, so there's no way I'd #$ her. Wonder if those freaky bastards got any regular chicks with'em…_

Don turned around to glance in the backseat. The boy was still asleep, as he should be. Don had no idea what his employers could want in a punk like him, except for maybe for a new recruit…Don shivered involuntarily at the thought. While immortality was tempting, he had no intent to transcend _that_ way. He hated to think what they would do to the boy, so he pushed the thought out of his mind and returned to inching across the city.

Once this was over, he would get his money and leave. One million U.S. could get you a lot of places. Maybe he would go to the Caribbean and buy a boat? He had always been a decent sailor. He could almost feel the oceanic breeze on his face, almost taste the Cuban cigar in his mouth, and almost feel the warm body of some tropical beauty against him as he passed through London. It was almost in his grasp…

Walter C. Dornez was dressed in his usual attire under a brown trench coat that he had kept from his days during the Cold War and carrying a briefcase in his left hand. He was currently directly beneath Marcus, though neither knew it at the moment, in London's sewer system. Several of the tunnels linked up to the subway system, so it was quite easy to slip in and out of the dirty catacombs. He had found this an easy way to cross London with all haste, but preferred to save it for emergencies. The stench made him quite aware of how much he missed his kitchen. And the rats! He couldn't stand the little imps. Though he wasn't afraid of them, they represented everything he worked against while in Hellsing H.Q.

The tunnel started to quake under his feet, signaling a passing train nearby. He was almost there…

"Alright Gloria, we're here," said Don as he parked the car. They were at one of the cheaper docks in the yard, and were far away from any of the underpaid security guards who had left that night for carnal pleasure in other parts of town.

In front of them was a large warehouse used to store empty crates by the harbor management. Don went up to the door and knocked six times. It opened a crack and he spoke in hushed voices with whoever was inside. He then nodded and walked back to the car.

"I'm gonna bring in the whelp, you just get in there and you'll be back with your friends soon," said the thug to Gloria. Don then picked Marcus up out of the backseat. The body twitched in his arms, but did not wake. He then led Gloria into the building and shut the door behind him.

Inside among the empty boxes stacked to the skylights, were several silent guards armed with AK-47s (standard issue bad guy equipment), a small card table with a lamp and two men sitting at the table facing Don. The two men appeared to be polar opposites, but Don and Gloria knew them to be the notorious Valentine Brothers. Jan, the younger, was dressed in a black jogging suit with a black ski cap featuring a single eye on his head. In the dim light, all Don could see was the eye, his face, and the zipper of his shirt. Luke, the elder, wore a similar suit; only this one was white with a white jacket over it. He wore his long blonde hair in a ponytail tied with a blue ribbon as he looked at his visitors over circular glasses.

"Hello Don. So glad to see you were successful with Ms. Gloria in capturing our young friend," said Luke, smiling calmly at the three. Don noticed his fangs sticking out of his lips and shivered. "Good evening Ms. Gloria. Good to see you could join us my dear."

Gloria repressed a shudder as Jan started speaking. "Now you remember what we told you Don, you better not have #$ed her while she was crashin' at your place! You know better than to #$ with us, don't you Don?" he said with a sick smile plastered on his face. "Gloria! Get over here bitch!"

Gloria walked over, her shoes clacking on the concrete floor. Jan watched her every move as she went to stand behind him. It was only then that she noticed that the guards were actually ghouls wearing riot gear. She didn't want to think about where Jan had gotten his equipment.

"Now Don, we have your money in this briefcase," said Luke while picking said case off the floor. "All you have to do is bring young Marcus over to us and you can take your money and leave."

Don hurried over, sweat running down his face and hands. Jan snickered but said nothing. He laid Marcus on the ground. Breathing hard, he took the briefcase and made a hasty retreat.

"That's all for me. I got nothing to do from here on, got it? I'm gonna take my money and leave. Got it?" Don said.

"Duly noted," replied Luke in a bored voice. Don took a few steps backwards, and then ran out of the warehouse and into his car. The heard him speed off into the distance. Turning, the blonde man turned to Gloria. "Excellent work my dear. You accomplished your objective without any hang-ups this time. Be sure to not screw things up, as you usually do," he said with venom in his voice. Luke got up and walked over to Marcus, sniffing the air.

"This is him alright. Just like Lieutenant Van Winkle said…" stated Luke, with a curious expression on his face. He leaned in to look at Marcus. "Why would they put such power in such a weak and insufficient package? Look at him, no mechanical parts, no vampirism, not even enough meat on these bones to feed a single gho-Guh!"

His analysis was cut short by a roundhouse kick that made him bite his tongue. Marcus gave him his best Alucard Grin TM.

"I have enough muscle to take you on, pretty-boy!" Marcus said triumphantly.

"Marcus no! Just do what they say and- AAAAHHHH!" cried out Gloria. Jan had knocked her to the floor with a backhand slap.

"Why isn't he asleep, you little bitch! He should be asleep!" roared Jan.

"That was my idea, asshole. While that tattooed jerk had me, I pretended to be asleep the whole time; and in case you hadn't known, my name is Marcus Banks, Private 2nd Class in the Hellsing Organization's private army. They will know I'm gone and come looking for me, and when they find me, they'll tear you apart!" declared Marcus, his eye's shining in the dim light. "And if you so much as touch her again, you freak, I'll kill you myself."

Jan smiled at his brother, who was picking himself off the floor. Both looked as if they had heard a tremendous joke and were laughing hysterically.

"Look at this, brother. It seems we caught ourselves a little hero! What are you going to do little orphan? You are outnumbered fifty to one, you have no weapons (as if they'd help you at all), and I see no backup coming in the next half an hour. By that time, we'll all be heading back to the Lieutenant. So you can say goodbye to any hope you had coming, because it will be too late!" said Luke with a sneer. They both laughed madly as a faint swishing sound went through the air.

Jan stopped laughing and said "Hey Luke, what's that-

Ten ghouls next to him fell in a pool of rotting blood and meat. The others raised their weapons, but twenty more fell, finally achieving their final rest.

"Get over here, the rest of you!" shouted Luke to the remaining ghouls. "What the hell is going on here!"

Marcus spun around, trying to find the source of the carnage. _Is it Gloria? She doesn't seem like the type to- no, she's lying on the floor as confused as I am. Then what?_

Then he froze. In the light of the lamp, he thought he saw what looked like spider web, flying through the air, as if caught in the breeze. He traced its path as it whipped around and wrapped around the neck of a ghoul. The monster was suddenly pulled up to the ceiling, where its head was cut off and its body fell to the floor with a sickening thunk.

Pulling out a shortened rifle, Luke scanned the room until his eyes fell on Gloria. Yanking her off the ground, he held her by her hair. Putting the barrel of his weapon on the back of her head, he shot Marcus a sneer.

"Alright, orphan! I think that's quite enough magic tricks for now. Make another move and your little bitch here dies!" he warned.

Marcus turned toward him, the wind out of his sails. He was bluffing before, but hadn't expected anything like this to happen. It could only be Alucard. Who else had this kind of power? "I'm not doing anything! This isn't me!"

"Nice try orphan, but there's no one else here! If not you, then who, pray tell, is it?" said Luke. Jan had pulled out tow massive machine guns out of a crate and was looking around the room.

"I believe that you have forgotten my presence in this situation, Mr. Valentine," said a calm voice from the other end of the warehouse. From the shadows a single lens of glass reflected what little light was in the room above a row of white teeth. Jan opened fire on the shape, but it was already gone.

Whatever it was laughed quietly. "Oh come now, Mister Jan. You can't kill me. There are none who can but God. You can't run," a ghoul in the cluster fell. "You can't hide," three more were down, that strange wire leading their destruction. "And you can't fight back." The gun against Gloria's head fell apart, cleanly cut as if by a surgeon. "All you Freaks can do is wait for the Angel of Death to bring you to your final grave." The barrels of Jan's guns were cut off, leaving only short stubs.

From out of the gloom, footsteps approached. Luke and Jan could only watch in horror, their mouths agape and sweat running down their faces. Gloria too was transfixed in horror at the figure that approached. Only Marcus could speak.

"Walter?"

The butler smiled as his monocle gleamed in the light. "Good evening Mr. Banks. I see that you have been handling things quite well for one who has just joined the ranks of Hellsing. For now though, please permit me to take care of this filth."

He waved his hands, sending his deadly wires slicing through the air. They dispatched the remaining ghouls in seconds. All were torn to ribbons by the silver metal the moment they made contact with it.

"Hahaha! The old man thinks he can still play with the dogs of war, eh? Well you are about to get #$ing iced, man!" giggled Jan as he picked up two guns from the fallen ghouls and opened fire on the man. Walter rolled out of the way as the bullets followed him behind to a pile of crates. Leaping up on top of them, Walter stood his ground as the vampires looked up at him.

"Come little babes, try your manhood up here!" he called down to them. Both Valentine brother's grinned at each other and jumped from box to box until they were both on the top of the crates.

"I think this geezer has lost his #$ing mind!" said the younger brother.

"I quite agree, dear brother. How can anyone as decrepit and wrinkled as he even think he can compare with our enhanced might?" said the older brother.

Walter was waving his hands in front of him and backing up. Marcus watched as his only hope seemed to be retreating. The Angel of Death only had a few feet between him and open air on top of the pile, and had soon crossed those to.

With a roar of victory, the two vampires leaped forward. As they sailed through the air, they heard a slight swishing sound. Their eyes flew open as they stopped and starred at Walter. He only grinned as they fell to pieces, both of them cut down by the web that the Angel of Death had led them into.

Hopping down from the stack of crates, he saw Marcus openly goggling him.

"I admit that I am getting on in years, but there are some things that don't fade with the passage of time. I'm sorry I took so long Mr. Banks," said Walter with a bow. "For now, I believe it would be best for both of us to-

He stopped and looked to Marcus's left. Gloria was starring at him with absolute horror on her face, unable to move. With a bow, Walter said "Forgive me miss; I had not introduced myself earlier. My name is Walter C. Dornez. May I inquire as to who you are?"

After looking at him with a confused, she glanced at Marcus who smiled reassuringly at her. "My name is Gloria, Mr. Dornez. I sincerely thank you for saving my life a moment ago. If there is anything else you may need of me, just ask."

"You're too kind. Whoever said that the next generation was lacking in manners?" he stepped towards the door. "Please accompany Mr. Banks and myself back towards Hellsing head quarters. I'm sure that Mr. Banks has no objections?"

He looked back at Marcus, but saw that Gloria had wrapped her arms around him and was kissing him deeply. With a smile, he walked outside to wait for the two.

After breaking their lips apart, Gloria said "Marcus, what should I do? The Hellsing Organization hunts vampires. They'll probably shoot me down before I reach the door. I can't go there!"

"Don't worry. I know Sir Integra. She probably won't mind another vampire helping out. She already has two you know," said Marcus, looking into her eyes. "Just be sure to mention that you have vital information and I'm sure she will be happy to have you."

They both walked outside where Walter waited there with Seras Victoria in front of one of Hellsing's Black Ops. vans. She glared at Marcus as he approached, and he had the sudden instinct to run for his life.

"How dare you think for one second that you could spend all night away from H.Q. without telling anyone! We had no idea where you were!" she shouted.

"Miss Victoria it's quite alright. He is safe now and" Walter began but Seras cut him off.

"I was out of my mind with worry! You could have been kidnapped! You could have been killed! You could have been-

"Seras I was kidnapped. I'll never do it again, so will you stop it already?" Marcus said with a smile.

The fledgling sighed. "I know you won't Marcus. I was just so worried about you. We all were, especially Sir Integra. I've haven't seen her this upset since she found out Alucard had hidden all her cigars."

She turned to Gloria. "And who might you be? Are you a- wait a second! You're vampire!" Seras turned back to Marcus her eyebrows climbing up her forehead. "You spent all night out with a vampire!" she asked incredulously.

"Nothing happened!" he said, blushing like a baboon. "Gloria, this is Seras Victoria. She's a vampire to, just like you."

"How do you do?" said Gloria with a hesitant smile. Seras walked up to her, looking her straight in the eye.

"Just tell me one thing…" she said with an air of menace.

"O-Okay," said Gloria.

"How do you get your hair to do that! It looks gorgeous on you! And those shoes! Oh my God, I've been looking everywhere for something like those!" shrieked Victoria with a bubbly smile.

Gloria beamed. "I found them at Louie Vitton, aren't they the best? I spent about thirty pounds on them!"

As the two women talked Marcus sweatdropped and looked at Walter. The older man just shrugged and they all got into the van.

Walking in from the Hellsing garage, Walter was going over a checklist of things he must do to facilitate another vampire in the mansion as they walked to Sir Integra's office. It was still quite late at night, so most of the soldiers had already gone to bed after word had reached them of Marcus's rescue.

"Are the lights always off in this place or is it just me?" asked Seras.

"Well, you always are up and about during the night, so we shut most of the lights off at ten o'clock, unless we have a mission in action," replied Walter.

Gloria grabbed Marcus's hand as they climbed the grand staircase. Her hands were sweating and her gaze was worried as she looked at Marcus. He caught the glance and smiled back, though he knew he was just trying to reassure her. Sir Integra couldn't stand two vampires in her home (though she didn't show it to any of them), so he would be asking for quite a lot with Gloria.

Walter opened the door to Sir Integra's office hesitantly. "Sir Integra? I have returned with Mr. Banks, Ms. Victoria, and one survivor," he paused. "Sir Integra? Are you awake?" He motioned for them to enter.

She was sitting in her chair, facing the window. The crescent moon shone in, now low on the horizon. Her desk was cluttered with paper work and an empty cigar box. Smoke was rising from behind her chair, and she didn't say a word as Marcus and Gloria walked forward. Marcus turned around to see Seras and Walter giving him a thumb up and walking out the door. He gulped.

"Mr. Banks, do you know who I am?" came Sir Integra's voice from behind the chair.

"Yes Sir Integra," replied Marcus, now sweating as much as Gloria.

"And where do you think you are?" Sir Integra asked.

"I-I'm in your off-

"You know nothing!" she wheeled around in her chair, her silver hair disheveled, her glasses askew, and her cigar down to a stub. "You know absolutely nothing! I am Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing, the leader of the Hellsing Organization! I serve the Queen of England on the Council of Twelve, I am the leader of three thousand troops, I am the master of the vampire Alucard and his fledgling, Seras Victoria, and I am the only heir to one of the most feared and respected vampire hunting families on Earth! You are now in _my_ office! You have deliberately disregarded my orders and gotten kidnapped by the enemy, making me put the only man I can trust in harms way, and you have the gall to come back here with a vampire! You know nothing! The only possible explanation for this is that you were knocked senseless and forgot who you were and who you worked for. Do you know what you have even done!"

Marcus could only stare at her, mouth agape and eyes bulging. Sir Integra stood there, heaving in rage. She got up and walked around her desk to stand in front of him.

"I take you into my home, give you a chance to exact vengeance on those who killed your family, and what do you do? You blow it all off! Have you no shame? Have you no dignity as a soldier in my army?" she shouted. "What the bloody Hell is wrong with you! Damn it all! I should fire you! I should turn you out on the street so you can go and die like the little hopeless brat you are! Why is this monster even here!"

"She saved my life," he said. His head was hanging down on his chest and he spoke in a quiet voice. "She didn't mean to do any of this. She didn't even want to become a vampire. They were going to give me over to the bad guys and she helped me when I needed her most,"

Marcus whipped his head up to glare at Sir Integra with tears running down his face. "How can you say that to me when you are the same way with Alucard!" he yelled.

_Smack!_

The next thing he knew he was on the floor, with Sir Integra standing over him. Her hand had left a red mark on his face. Gloria gasped and held her hand to her mouth as the two just froze there. Both glared at each other, gritting their teeth. Integra finally put her hand down to her side as Marcus got up and started walking towards the door.

"Come on Gloria, let's go get you settled…" he said without looking at her. She followed with a nervous glance at Sir Integra who hadn't moved.

(Author's Note: Would all Integra fans (isn't that everyone?) please forgive me for making her a major bitch in this chapter. Given the circumstance, I think that this is how things would have gone out. _Pauses._ Yeah, that's all I got…)


	10. Order 9: And Even More Training

(Author's Note: Thank you for reading this far into my work of fiction everyone! _Some of the moths chewing in the curtains get bored and fly off in search of a place where their ears don't bleed whenever the scary man talks, Z sweat drops._ Moving write along (ba-dump ching!), I will be leaving on July 3rd for my summer camp in Wisconsin, so I won't be able to write much then. Or review. Please forgive me for having a job. Please! I'll be gone for most of the summer, so I will try to binge write until then. Fun fun fun! _Then the impossible happens: hot women walk into the audience cheering madly, wearing T-shirts with "We Love You!" on them, and asking Z to sign their chests. Z is dumbfounded._ **Fan girls: Oh my God! We all love you so much! Your writing is so beautiful, and your characters so original and sexy and I wanna have your babies and please sign my chest, and Oh my God! We love you! **Z: …Huh? **Fan girls: What? Don't you know who we are? We're your fan girls! We all want to make out with you! We would have gotten here sooner, but we got lost with your directions so…** Z: I didn't give out directions… **Fan girls: But aren't you the greatest fic writer of all time, sheiro2?** _Z face faults, Fan girls leave complaining about bad directions._ I so could have taken advantage of that situation. Damn my honesty! I'll get you yet! And damn you Urashima (sheiro2)! By the way, the following chapter will probably have me officially banned from Catholicism. You'll understand.)

Order 9: And Even More Training

"If you come this way, Ms. Gloria, I'll show you to your room," said Walter with a bow, gallant as ever. Marcus had gone to bed after making sure that Gloria found Walter and hadn't said much while they were looking for him. Gloria didn't press the issue.

"Thank you Mr. Dornez," said Gloria as they descended the main staircase to the main hall. After seeing him fight in the warehouse, she was surprised to see that he was actually Sir Integra's butler. However, her vampiric instinct still saw him as one worthy of respect, so that was what she showed him. "Did you…did you hear what happened in Sir Integra's office?"

The old man sighed. "Yes, I did."

"Why was she like that to Marcus? I can understand her being upset at him, but she seemed to take it a bit hard, don't you think?" asked Gloria hesitantly. Walter stopped in front of her and hung his head.

"Sir Integra…has had a hard life. Her mother was killed when she was only a child, and her father died shortly after her thirteenth birthday, leaving her in charge of the entire Hellsing Organization. Ever since then, she has been completely…consumed by her work. She never takes a day off, she never vacations, she gets barely any sleep, and she has to run this entire organization with little help, though she could get it if she wanted it."

Walter turned to her. "Her entire life has been about one thing only: hunting and killing any vampire, ghost, ghoul or demon who threatens the Great Britain. Sir Integra has even gone out into the field at times, though she doesn't as much as she would like. She mostly has to sit in the sidelines and order her men off to die. She hates that more than anything. I'm sure you can see how she felt when she learned that Marcus had thrown himself in harms way Ms. Gloria, though no one blames you for it…"

When they had reached two large French doors, Walter said "I'm sure you won't mind taking a small shortcut," and opened the doors. Gloria gasped.

Inside was a large ballroom, at least the size of the infield of a baseball diamond. The usual Spartan décor of the rest of the mansion was thrown into sharp contrast with this room. Along the inner most wall was a small stage where that could fit a small orchestra with blue colored curtains with red trim. The dance floor was made of blue marble tile with scarlet tile running around the walls, and the walls themselves were decorated with a lovely mural of a rose garden set against a blue sky. Five glass doors led out to a tranquil patio with coffee tables and a small sculpture of a night on horseback. Above them, a gothic chandelier of gold hung, its light still coming from candles, though they were now put out.

"Oh my…Mr. Dornez it's beautiful! You didn't tell me that Sir Integra danced!" exclaimed Gloria.

"She doesn't. This room was made during the turn of the century, before the First World War. It hasn't been used since the 1950s, under Sir Reginald Hellsing, who was an avid swing dance. Your room is right through these doors here Ms…"he stopped. Gloria was "dancing" around the room with the invisible man, though he could tell she had only seen it in movies. "Ms. Gloria? Your room?"

"Oh right! Sorry Mr. Dornez, I got carried away…" she said while blood went to her pale cheeks. He just sighed and continued through a door to another hallway and into her room.

"I will give you a spare coffin at first, but I believe a real coffin should be ready in about-

"One week," said a deep voice from behind the door. A gloved hand closed the door to reveal Alucard, leaning against the wall. "I will make her a coffin within one week."

Gloria gasped and shrunk back behind Walter who looked at Alucard with confusion. The butler said "What do you mean? You don't know how to make a coffin…do you?"

"All vampires' coffins come from their master, in some way or form. When a vampire becomes a master of our race, they must have a new coffin made for them by another vampire, or else their powers dwindle. As I am sure you know, old friend, you have yet to let go of your humanity," Alucard chuckled. Looking at Gloria, he caught her eye and held it for several moments. He grinned. "I will have your coffin made for you within one week, Song bird."

Alucard turned to open the door and walked out. Turning into the ballroom, he was half way across when he heard a voice.

"Gloria."

Startled, he whipped around to see Gloria sitting on the stage edge, starring him in the eye.

"My name, is Gloria. I am no fledgling of yours, and I will never submit to your will, No Life King," she said with a tone of assertiveness that he was unaccustomed to.

"Really?" he said, an insane grin spreading his lips. "You are in my house, my dear. Though you are a master vampire, you are no fighter. You sit on a perch and sing your songs to-_ting!_

He looked in Gloria's hand to see a brass tuning fork in her hand, and an iron director's wand in the other. The sound of the fork rang in his ears, as she walked over to him. Sweating, he clasped his hands to his ears as the sound became so loud he could barely stand it.

"Don't grit your teeth or they'll shatter. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you are going to kill me," warned Gloria.

"Little girl…_ahhh!_...you have no idea who you are dealing with…" Alucard said in between pants for breath.

"I know who you are Alucard, and I know what you do here. Marcus told me not to worry about you and Sir Integra, but so far he's been half wrong. I need to know that you won't turn on me at the last second."

"I won't do anything to you unless my master orders me. I can't. Your masters should have at least told you that much…"

Gloria narrowed her eyes. "They did, but I don't trust any of them. It's their fault I'm a vampire in the first place. I don't serve them any more and all I'm trying to do is survive, so leave me alone."

She got up to walk away and the ringing in Alucard's ears stopped. Collecting himself, he stood up and turned to look at Gloria's retreating form.

"I suppose than that you'll have to do a lot of this sort of thing here. Here's my advice: avoid the men when you can. They know that you didn't want to become a vampire, but you almost hurt Marcus, so they'll be a little un-hospitable to you. And that's not just because you're one of us…" said Alucard. She continued walking as he spoke, and once she had left, he exited through the glass doors. Looking up past the statue, he saw a familiar figure on the balcony overhead.

Stepping through the shadows, he phased onto Marcus's balcony directly behind him.

"What do you want Alucard?" Marcus said.

"Feeling a little moody, are we Marcus? Understandable. Conflicts with my master never end well," chuckled Alucard, walking over to lean on the rail.

For a while, they just stood there, watching the little lights of the guards go about their rounds. The weather was getting cooler at night, and Marcus hugged his arms to his chest for warmth. Over the treetops, London's lights could still be seen, despite the lateness of the hour. Stars shone over head with no clouds to block their gaze upon the beings below.

"Did I make a mistake Alucard?"

The Midian paused. Removing his glasses, he turned to look Marcus in the eye. "Humans are some of the most easily influenced beings in existence. Your emotions, your friends, your families, your enemies, your dreams, your nightmare, all can change how a human will act in any given situation," he said, no humor in his voice. "However, these are all cast aside by the one thing that can decide who you are and what you do: your will. Of all God's creatures, the human being is the only one with a will of its own."

"You, Marcus, made the decision to listen to Gloria's voice. You made the decision to trick the Valentine brothers. And you made the decision to bring Gloria here. No one else, you. It will take some work, and she may get killed, but that is your responsibility. By bringing her here, you are vouching for her. Anything she does in err will be reflected upon you. It is your decision what to do with this situation."

Marcus frowned. "Can I at least get some advice from you?" he asked.

Alucard grinned and said "My master controls me through these," he said and held up his gloves. "The signs you see on these hands are what restrict and control my real power. They were drawn by Integra. She keeps the original drawing hidden from everyone. The original is the key to these locks. If I find it, I will find my freedom."

Marcus just sweatdropped. "I wonder what it's like to hear someone speak

English…"

Alucard's eyebrows lowered. "Find a way to bind Gloria to you, you little idiot! Can I be any more obvious! She may be weak, but I doubt she will follow a moron like you- **what are you laughing about!**"

Marcus just giggled. "That is the first time I've ever seen you philosophical. It's hilarious!" Wiping his eyes, Marcus said "Gloria is not like you. She won't need controls or restrictions because she won't go on a killing spree every five minutes. Gloria wouldn't hurt a fly. She's too kind, and gentle, and beautiful-**what are you smiling about!**"

Alucard grinned evilly. "That is the first time I've seen your softer side. It's…amusing to see you this way. Though if you go into to much detail, I think I might have to leave…"

"Oh be quiet you. If you can go around in a pimp suit, then I'm aloud to like a vampire. So there," said Marcus with a comic "hmph!" Alucard just chuckled darkly.

"By the way, Marcus," Alucard began. "If I were you, I would want to get a good rest tomorrow, seeing as its approaching dawn. You have a big day ahead of you."

Marcus looked at him quizzically. "Why is that?"

"I suspect your training is going to get quite harder over these next few weeks," said the vampire. Marcus looked at him for a moment, then slowly walked into his room and closed the doors behind him.

Alucard chuckled and leaned his back against the doors and folded his arms in front of him, keeping his nightly vigil until dawns first light.

Marcus slept for a good portion of the morning until he was shaken awake by Walter.

"You must wake up Mr. Banks. It's already ten o'clock in the morning." said Walter, briskly as ever.

Marcus groaned and shoved pulled the covers over his head. "Noooo Wawtah, I don' wanna get up."

With a sigh, Walter said "Mr. Banks, you're the lateness of the hour to which you stayed up does not get in the way of your training. Captain Bernadette was kind enough to let you sleep, but this has gone on far enough!" With that, Walter ripped the blankets off the bed, leaving Marcus curled up of the sheets.

"Fine, have it your way…" Marcus said and climbed out of bed.

"Your breakfast can be found in the mess hall, as usual." Walter said, and was about to walk out when Marcus called after him.

"Wait, Walter!"

"Yes, Mr. Banks?" asked Walter.

"Did you…uh, hear anything from Sir Integra? About Gloria?" Marcus asked with worry.

Walter smiled calmly. "I talked with Sir Integra last night about that. She has agreed to let her stay here in the mansion, for now at least. Sir Integra knows that resisting a vampire's spell is incredibly hard to do, so she has forgiven you." He paused, and said "However, she is not used to having to apologize to her subordinates, so I wouldn't expect one anytime soon…"

Marcus nodded and went to go get dressed as Walter exited the room.

After finishing off his sausage, Marcus was about to start his tea (which had been cooling) when Pip came in and sat down next to him, grinning like an idiot.

Marcus shrunk back, awaiting the reprimand from his mentor. When none came, he took a sip of his tea and asked "Can I help you?"

This was all the Frenchman needed.

With a shout, Pip started slapping Marcus on the back (causing him to spit out his tea), cheering wildly, and calling for pints. "Wooooooooooohoooooooooooooo! Yeah! Oh yeah! Bravo mon ami, bravo!"

"Pip, what the Hell are you going on about?" shouted Marcus, his shirt now stained with his tea.

"Damn, man! I know I trained you well, but I didn't know how well! You scored major lip action from a hot chick _on your first try!_ This deserves a feast! A parade! A medal! A standing ovation! A nice chat with your teacher on how you did it!"

"Pip, will you shut the bloody Hell up! It wasn't like that. And besides, she only did it because she was ordered to…" Marcus said and paused. "Well, at first at least!"

After he finished his breakfast, the rest of the men, Pip, and Marcus all got ready for training.

"Anyway, today we need to work on your combat skills. To do that, I got a friend of mine to come here and teach you a thing or two," said Pip and they walked into the weight room. After getting a similar reaction to Pip's about his night with Gloria, he sighed and went to go warm up and stretch. One of the other soldiers put on an American rock mix, which had everyone going about their exercises at a steady pace.

When they had finished up, they put away their things and went to the gym to practice hand-to-hand combat. Pip, however, called Marcus over.

"Remember how I said I have a special teacher for you? Let's go get your weapons and meet her," he said and walked out of the weight room into the armory. After grabbing his Archangels, Marcus followed.

"Wait, her? The teacher is a girl?" he asked.

"Well yes, 'her' usually does imply a certain degree of feminism. Now come on, you especially don't want to make her wait…" said Pip. He led Marcus to through the halls, until Marcus realized where they were headed.

"Pip, are we going to the library?" Marcus asked. Pip nodded and stopped in front of the doors to the massive Hellsing archives. Straitening his hair and eye-patch, he opened the doors.

"Oh Ms. Chapman? Your new student is here," Pip said. Marcus gave him a shocked look, to which he answered. "What, surprised that Ms. Chapman would be giving you lessons? Sir Integra makes sure that all personnel are trained in basic combat, which is why she hired Ms. Chapman, who already is an excellent fighter, among other things…" he said with a grin. Marcus rolled his eyes.

Ms. Chap man walked out of a door to their right, wearing her usual suit (much to Pip's and Marcus's joy). Smiling, she said "Thank you Captain Bernadette for bringing Marcus here, I'm sure we will have a wonderful time." Pip muttered something about Marcus getting all the luck and walked out, leaving Marcus in the library with Ms. Chapman. Alone.

Ms. Chapman looked Marcus up and down, sizing him up, and said "Well Marcus, we may as well get started. Take off your clothes."

"W-What?"

"Take off your clothes. That uniform is to heavy for what we'll be doing, so…" she said and reached behind her desk. "We will be wearing these!"

She handed him what looked like a black diving suit, only it had pockets and extended to the fingers and toes. On the back was the Hellsing crest. With a sigh of relief, he took the outfit and went into the nearby restroom to change. It fit him like a glove and, he was happy to see, showed off his developing biceps quite nicely. He smiled and thought of what Gloria would think of it.

Stepping out of the restroom, Ms. Chapman called out to him from her office. "I'll just be a minute! I need to get into mine."

"You'll be wearing one too?" he asked.

"Yes. Its imperative to your training that we have as much flexibility as possible. You'll understand once we get started."

_I can only imagine how flexible you are,_ he thought. _Wait! No! I am not Pip! I am not Pip!_

Ms. Chapman walked out in a body suit similar to his, only it was a bright green, like her eyes. The only other difference was that she had un-zipped it down a bit and she had her hair tied in a pony tail. _Damn!_ was all he could think.

"Now, help me move all these tables out of the way. The only men that come in here besides Walter, bless him, are the ones that are trying watch me instead of read. Sir Integra comes in when she can, and so does Seras, but other than that, I haven't really had to help anyone until you showed up."

They both lifted up one of the tables and moved against the wall. Stacking the chairs on top of it, Marcus asked "Does Alucard ever come in here?"

"Alucard? Hmmm, yes he does come in occasionally. He says that he gets bored and needs something to read when he's not on an assignment. Not much of a conversationalist, but I need to find his tailor," she said with a grin.

"You and me both. Only I think I'll make a few modifications…" said Marcus.

"Oh really? Like what?"

"Like the kind that will make it fit someone other than a seven foot tall giant!"

Ms. Chapman laughed as they picked up the next table. Once they had all the enough tables out of the way, she told him to pick up his guns and walked over to her desk. Unlocking a drawer, she pulled out two Smith and Wesson 9 mm. revolvers. She Unloading them, she walked over to Marcus.

"The kind of combat that I specialize in uses conventional weapons in unconventional ways. Since your _Archangels_ are unconventional variations on the standard pistol, you should be able to adapt to this quite easily." She paused. "I've never actually fought against someone who used _Archangels_, so this will be a learning experience for us both. Now, I want you to attack me as if I was a Freak."

She spread her legs apart and assumed a fighting position, holding both of her guns sideways in front of her as if she were aiming at Marcus.

"Are you sure?" Marcus asked. He didn't want to accidentally cut Ms. Chapman. He _definitely_ didn't want to cut her the way he had cut the ice bitch.

Ms. Chapman grinned. "Don't worry Marcus, I'm a big girl. I can handle myself." With a blush, Marcus held up his _Archangels_ and circled left.

She circled right, letting him lead. Without taking his eyes off hers, he squeezed the pistol grips and leaned back on his right, like a coiling spring. Twisting his torso to the right, he jumped at her with a spinning slash. As he spun, he saw her left arm swing out. It all happened so fast he could barely keep up after that. She did…something…and he was on the face down on the ground with a small bruise on his right calf.

Feeling the cold metal of a gun barrel on the back of his head, he heard Ms. Chapman say "Bang, your dead."

He turned over and got up. "Wha…how did you do that?" he asked, flabbergasted.

She smiled. "Well, first I brought my left arm up, like this, to block your blade with the barrel of my gun, and then I kicked your right leg out from under you. When you hit the ground, I put my gun to your head."

"I see…and how do you suggest I avoid that from happening again?"

"Well, Captain Bernadette does know what he's doing with you, so you have the basics of combat down. Your body is in good shape, and improving, you're fast, you know how to use your weapon, and you have the strength to back it up." Ms. Chapman said. "However, you are not using the most powerful organ you have at your disposal."

"What's that?" Marcus asked.

"Your brain. You attacked with little planning for what to do afterwards, you didn't even try to read my movements, and most importantly, you let yours show. In regular, day-to-day existence, the mind is supported by the body. The same applies in fights. All forms of combat are mind games, only with more physical exertion and pain. By learning to use your head instead of your muscles, there are few people you won't be able to beat…wait, did I just make a speech?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Oh God, what have I become," she said jokingly. "Now let's get started on attack patters."

They continued training for a good two hours after that. Marcus learned that by watching her eyes, legs, arms, and torso, he could figure out what she was going to do. This was also why they wore the body suits, because baggy clothes would get in the way. They went down to the shooting gallery and practiced judging the path of a bullet by the shooters body language. When they were done, Marcus changed back into his uniform and went to join Pip for lunch.

"Hey Marcus, how'd your training go?" Pip asked

"It was alright. We went over how I know absolutely nothing about fighting, and then moved on to how I happen to be a brainless idiot. Overall, it was ok."

"Good, because she is going to be handling your combat training from now on. She's a good teacher, so I expect you to learn a lot from her. Pass the ketchup." Pip said as he squirted the condiment on his hamburger. Marcus was eating a bowl of clam chowder. They were eating outside, trying to enjoy the warm weather while it lasted in one of the gardens. The birds were flitting about, collecting twigs as the constant hum of bees filled the air. For a while, they just sat and ate in silence.

"Oh, I was talking to Walter the other day, and it turns out that his uncle was the one who designed your _Archangels_. Apparently they had a lot in common and spent a lot of time together, when he was alive," Pip said in a quiet voice.

"How did he die?" Marcus asked.

"Vampire attack. Walter inherited his current position from his Uncle Basil, who actually took him in when Walter's parents died in a fire. Taught him everything he knows," he looked at Marcus meaningfully. "Any time you feel like you need to talk to anyone, just ask. I know how it must be hard for you, having to lose your parents and then being dragged into all of this…just know that we're all here for you."

Marcus set down his spoon and stared at his chowder. "I do miss them a lot. We got along well enough, we always did things together when we had the time…we were always there for each other…" he sniffed. "And I couldn't do anything…I couldn't stop them from dying. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye…"

Marcus pushed away his half eaten soup and rested his head in his arms. "Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing if they were still alive…whether we would have gone to the beach, or gone to a movie. I just wish they were still here…"

Pip sighed. "Well, at least you're not alone. You have Walter, Seras, Gloria, Sir Integra, and me. We'll all be here for you, so don't feel like you have no one to depend on. Oh, and Alucard. I suppose, he's there for you too."

Marcus looked at Pip with a small smile. "Thanks. I really appreciate you all for taking me in like you did. I just need to move on with my life. Now I have Gloria to look after, vampires to kill, training, and I still haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up!"

They both laughed and finished their meal. Marcus was on guard duty tonight with Seras, which meant he wouldn't be able to see Gloria until his shift was over. Sighing, he loaded his _Archangels_, stuck spare ammo in his belt, and went out to meet up with Seras. She didn't have her _Harkonnen_ with her, but instead carried an AK-47 over her back.

"Good, you're here Marcus. How was your day?" Seras asked.

"It was alright, but I'm exhausted now. I really need to take a day off," he answered. They started walking through the gardens where he and Pip had had lunch.

Seras smiled. "Yeah, training will do that to you. When I was in the police academy, I got home with only enough energy to make ramen and go to bed. It'll do you good though," she said. "Oh, by the way, Gloria found me and wanted to tell you that she likes her new room. She has such a great fashion sense! Her hair was perfect and she was even able to hide her paleness. I need to get her to teach me how she does it."

"Did it ever occur to you that she uses her vampirism to do that?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that. Well she also said that understands if you are too tired to do anything but go to bed tonight. She was headed for the library, so I think she'll be fine there for tonight."

"Thank God! I probably won't be able to even hold up a conversation like this. Tomorrow night I'll make it up to her though," he said and sighed. "God she is so great. I can't imagine where I'd be without her…"

"Probably in the hands of those guys who captured you. Gloria said that she was going to talk with Ms. Chapman about what happened so she can make record of those Valentine Brothers. Do you know why they captured you anyway?" she asked.

Marcus frowned. "Probably to just get at Hellsing. Gloria said they were Nazis, so I think there are probably more of them. They should have kidnapped someone more important though, like Pip, or Walter. Oh well. Sir Integra will know what to do."

They talked as they walked, each coming with crazy ideas as to what the Nazis were up to. Some included movie rights, history recognition, James Bond, and doomsday devices. By the end of their shift, Marcus was dead tired and bid Seras goodnight.

After he had brushed his taken a shower and brushed his teeth, Marcus changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. He didn't fall asleep until about one o'clock.

He was awoken by a sudden bright light and opened his eyes. At first, all he could see was white and blue until he realized what he was laying on: a cloud.

"Aww crap, I must be dead. Hello! God! St. Peter? Is anyone there?" he called out.

"We can hear you honey," said a voice from behind him. Marcus turned around to see men dressed in white robes standing next to each other. Both had halos and large white wings. One had red hair that was combed to the side while the other had straw colored hair. Both seemed to have a semi-divine glow about them. No other explanation required.

"Crap. I knew I was dead."

"Actually, you're just dreaming," said the red-head. "My name is Gabriel, and this is my…partner Raphael. We are the spirits of the _Archangels_."

Marcus felt his left eye start to twitch.

"Don't worry, you're not crazy," said Raphael. "We came to give you a message. It comes from _higher up_, so I suggest you listen to it well."

Gabriel pulled out a paper from inside his robe and read "To Marcus Israphel Banks. Don't worry." The angel then put the paper back in his robe and Marcus sweatdropped.

"Is that it?" the teen asked.

"Yep. He likes to keep things to the point," said Raphael. "Now lets party!"

A disco ball lowered down from who knows where as Gabriel and Raphael tore off their robes to reveal matching fishnet shirts and pink hot pants. The song "It's Getting Hot In Here" started playing from all around and the two angels wrapped each other in their arms and started to grind very closely. Marcus started to back away from the…odd sight and was soon running away screaming. You can only be so open minded before you crossed the line.

He woke up screaming in a cold sweat. It was four o'clock in the morning and he could here Walter asking if he was alright.

"I'm okay. I just think I'll skip weapons practice tomorrow."

(Author's Note: Yeah…yaoi archangels…bet you never saw that one coming. If you do happen to be a homosexual, please forgive me if I offended you in anyway. It was not my intent. I've always wanted to do a Hellsing dream, so I decided to put it in now. _Glances around suspiciously._ No this is not an attempt to bring the fan girls back, why do you ask? By the way, God of Epyon put up NEV Psychiatric Ward again, so go and read it. It's awesomely funny. If said author happens to be reading this (not likely), please don't sue me for advertising without your permission. I just want to help!)


	11. Order 10: Dynamite B Part 1

(Author's Note: Please forgive me for not getting Gloria in for most of the last chapter. I promise that she will get her time in the spot light this chapter. Wait…No! I mean, she might get her time in the spotlight. Yeah, that'll hold'em off without giving away the plot, yeah…Anyway…I went to Japan Fest 2005 in Arlington Heights, and though it was lacking anime, it was still a great time. I also finally learned how to use chopsticks, which proved to be a very fun utensil. So without further ado, here is chapter ten. (Did I use the correct "ado"?))

Order 10: Dynamite B Part 1

Thankfully, Marcus didn't have anymore dreams that night. When Walter woke him up, he did so without too much resistance and went down to have breakfast.

"I suppose that it would be better if I did stay up later, considering what we do, huh?" he asked Pip as they ate their porridge (no Oliver Twist pun intended).

"Eh, you get used to it. Just drink your tea and you'll be fine," answered Pip.

"Ya know, speaking of the tea…" Marcus leaned in and lowered his voice. "I don't know about you, but I think they put something in there that isn't tea, if you catch my drift…"

Pip cocked an eyebrow and fiddled with his braid. "You may be on to something. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen Walter go to sleep. Do you think he might be an insomniac?"

"Wouldn't be surprised. But what about Sir Integra? What ever they put in that stuff must be getting to her. She's always in her office, doing paperwork, filling out forms, yelling at Alucard, going to meetings, ordering equipment, yelling at Alucard, covering stuff up with the media, shooting Alucard, and of course looking into those Nazi bastards."

"Twenty pounds says she snaps before New Years," challenged Pip.

"No deal, I get the idea that she has been doing this for a while. Make it thirty."

"What tea are you drinking? You only get twenty-five percent of your wages. The rest goes to your bank account and college fund!"

They both looked at each other and burst out laughing. After breakfast, both went to the weight room, where Marcus could feel his thighs protest after yesterday's training with Ms. Chapman. He plugged his mp3 player into the stereo system and played one of his favorite songs: "Anarchy in the U.K." by Sex Pistols. Everyone in the room gave him a small grin. When Walter walked by the weight room, he stopped and snorted his disapproval at the song, though he didn't leave until it was over.

From the weight room, Marcus went to the library where Ms. Chapman awaited him. She had already changed into her jumpsuit and was reading "Guns and Ammo". He just stared at this odd sight for a minute, and then went to the restroom to change into his jumpsuit.

"Alright Marcus, today we will continue our lesson from yesterday about studying your opponents moves. Now, I want you to watch as I go through this pattern of attacks and try to figure out what I'm going to do before I do it," Ms. Chapman said after they had moved the tables and chairs again. She pulled out her pistols again and kicked the invisible ghoul's ass.

Marcus was able to figure out a small amount of what her plan was, but was a little…distracted by his beautiful teacher. Still, he tried to be as professional as possible. He did notice that she was left legged, but right handed, and that she rocked her body back before she did a jump-kick. His lesson went on like this for the rest of the morning until lunch.

He was very hot during lunch, the tight jumpsuit lacking breathable fabric, and washed is face off in cold water before eating. Not being able to find Pip, Marcus sat down in front of the air conditioner to eat his B.L.T. He had borrowed Ms. Chapman's copy of "Guns and Ammo", and was reading an article comparing shotguns and flamethrowers. It was a compelling argument, stating that flamethrowers were not a guaranteed fatality and made to much light and noise. Looking up to sip his chocolate milk (no more tea for him) he choked on the liquid and coughed several times before speaking to Sir Integra.

"G-Good afternoon Sir!" he said and snapped to attention.

"Good afternoon Marcus. At ease," she said and sat down opposite him. Unsure of what to do, he hesitated and then sat down.

"Umm, would you like some peaches?" he said offering her a fruit.

"No thank you. I'll get to the point," Sir Integra said while lighting up a cigar. Marcus resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose at the smell. "We have a situation. Finish up your meal and come to my office. That is all."

"Thank you Sir!" he said as she walked out. Some of the men were giving him a curious look, but he just shrugged and finished his cottage cheese.

Knocking on the doors to Sir Integra's office, he heard her say to open them and walked in. The knight in question was at her desk sucking heavily on her cigar with her hands folded in front of her. Marcus was also surprised to see that Alucard was leaning against her desk, watching him behind his mirrored sunglasses.

"Have a seat," said Sir Integra. He walked over to across the black and white tile and sat down, feeling very nervous indeed.

"Marcus, as I told you earlier we have a problem. Three weeks ago, the bodies of three students were found in eight dumpsters throughout the city. _Three_ university students in _eight_ dumpsters. The perpetrator had yet to be found. These young men were some of our informants working undercover. They were last seen at a club, named 'Dynamite B'. No one saw where they went after that, due to the noise and lights," she said, and stopped to tap the ashes off her cigar.

"A week and a half ago, we had sent in an undercover team to find out what happened to them. They could not get into the club, having been stopped by the bouncer. When they showed their police badges, he laughed and asked for a warrant, which they did not have. The club is frequented by teenagers and college students, so any men we send in would easily be spotted and found out," she paused. "Except for you…"

"What she is asking of you boy," said Alucard "Is to pretend to be a 'raven' and collect any information you can."

"Umm, I think you mean 'raver', actually…" Marcus said in a small voice. Sir Integra gave him a sly smile.

"Whatever," said the nosferatu.

"We have arranged for you to be dropped off a block away from the club by a team of soldiers. You will be wearing a wire and tracer under your clothing, so we can here what is going happening. The vehicle you are dropped off in will contain recording equipment and will transmit directly back to headquarters," explained Sir Integra. She stopped and sweatdropped as Marcus raised a hand. "Do you have a question?" she said in an annoyed tone.

"Actually, Sir Integra, if this is a club…a wire won't do us any good," Marcus said.

Sir Integra frowned. "And why is that?"

"The music. I don't know if you have ever heard some of it but, well, here listen to this," he said and pulled out his mp3 player. It was set on a song by Linkin' Park. Putting in the earphones, Sir Integra pressed play. The results were astounding.

After the initial blast hit, Sir Integra winced and dropped the cigar from her lips. Alucard looked over curiously as he heard the music from across the desk, as did Marcus. Pressing the stop button, Sir Integra asked "What the devil was that!"

Marcus smiled sheepishly. "Linkin' Park. It's a band, and I guarantee that it will be played at this place."

"Alright, cancel the wire," she said, regaining her composure. "We won't even be able to hear tank fire let alone a human voice. Anyway, I have had Walter prepare you a suit to wear to the club. It will hide your _Archangels_, plus three magazines. To further ensure your safety, Alucard will accompany you. He will be in hellhound form and, yes Alucard, will wear a leash."

Alucard's eye was twitching very dangerously and he was bearing his teeth when Marcus raised his hand again.

"What is it now Marcus?" asked Sir Integra.

"Did you say that Walter designed a suit for me to wear?"

"Yes."

"And Alucard will be accompanying me as a hellhound?"

"Yes, yes I did. What does it matter?"

Marcus sighed. Looking at Alucard, he said "She doesn't get out much, does she?"

"I BEG YOUR PARDON!" Sir Integra roared as Alucard laughed maniacally.

"Please don't take any offense Sir Integra, but your plan won't work very well," Marcus said in an apologetic voice.

"Explain," she ordered.

"For starters, if Walter designed it, the suit will make me stand out like a sore thumb. I don't have any clothes that would let me blend in with the crowd, so I'll need to do some shopping. They also don't allow dogs into these kinds of things, so Alucard will need to be back up."

"Absolutely not. I will not have you go out to socialize if you are not in the proper attire. Plus, you are still a minor and there will be alcohol. Do you think that the other people won't have parental supervision or a chaperone?"

Marcus just sweatdropped. "Sir Integra, I think you should come with me."

"What?" she asked.

"Not on the mission, just to buy the clothes. I don't have enough money to buy them, soooo…"

Alucard chuckled as Sir Integra leaned back in her chair and tapped her foot. "Alright, it seems that I will have to concede to your…expertise in this matter. We will go tonight to buy your clothes and stake out the club. Meet me in the garage at seven o'clock sharp. You are dismissed."

Marcus got up and bowed, trying to show as much respect as possible. Walking out, he wondered how he was going to pull this off. He had never been a raver, or a punk for that matter, so he was playing this by ear. In school, he had had some friends who did this kind of thing on the weekends, but he couldn't contact them. Marcus thought about who he could talk to on how to behave. Pip? No, to busy fighting to know much about pop culture. Ms. Chapman? No, too classy to be seen there. Seras? Doubtful. Too busy busting places like 'Dynamite B' to admire the atmosphere. Alucard and Walter weren't even considered. That left Gloria.

Marcus smiled to himself as he walked to her room. It was still not completely furnished, but he did see a large coffin like the one that Seras had when they went to Russia. There was also a packet of blood cooling in a bucket of ice, but he just tried to ignore that. Walking over to the coffin, he tapped on the lid.

"Gloria? It's me, Marcus," he said quietly. Through the wood, he could here her reply.

"Hi Marcus," Gloria said.

"I'm sorry that I didn't get to see you last night. I really feel bad about that. Sorry…"

Pushing the lid open, Gloria said "That's alright. I know." She smiled up at him, and all at once he felt like everything would be alright. He smiled back. Offering her his hand, he pulled her up out of the coffin.

"I'll need to go shopping tonight," she said thoughtfully. "I'm still wearing that white dress from before."

"That's right! I think I know a way we can solve that problem," Marcus said and explained the mission to Gloria. "So really, the question is, have you ever been to a club like this before?"

She smiled coyly. "Maybe. Maybe not," she said turning around and walking across the room. Marcus grinned and followed her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Don't tell me you're going to make me beg?" he said, whispering into her ear.

"Hmm, that is a tempting idea. But you'd just enjoy it as much as I would," she said and giggled. Gloria spun around and clasped her hands behind Marcus's neck. "Alright, I'll go with you to buy clothes. You know, you really need to get a better sense in fashion. T-shirts and jeans? Please!"

Marcus cocked an eyebrow. "Hey, what's wrong with that?"

"Those clothes are for when you sit around the house and don't expect company. I know a store where we can get clothes for this place."

"Awesome. We will be leaving around seven, so I'll get you up after dinner," he said.

"Dinner? Wait, what time is it?"

"I just finished lunch before coming here. We can't go now, it's too sunny and I still have target practice," Marcus said

"Oh, okay. I just thought it was night already," Gloria said. Breaking there embrace, she sat down in her coffin. Marcus walked to her and kneeled down.

Giving her a quick kiss on the lips, he said "Good day. I'll wake you after dinner, okay?"

"Okay Marcus. I'll see you then," she replied and lay down to get comfortable. Closing the lid, Marcus got up and left for the armory.

Grabbing his _Archangels_ from the wall, he stared at them for a second. Their metallic barrels gleamed in the light. Shaking his head, he went and retrieved regular ammunition and walked into the shooting gallery. Going over to booth ten, he loaded up and took aim at the bull's eye with both weapons. Taking several deep breaths always helped aim and concentrate, so he breathed in to a count of seven, held it for a seven count, and released it to seven. He opened his eyes and shot his first round. They hit wide, falling in the second closest ring to the outside of the target.

_Don't let it faze you, just aim and shoot at the center,_ he thought as Pip had taught him. It was important to take your time when shooting. In battle, it could be that you only needed that one extra second to line up your shot perfectly. No matter how hard you try, your arm will move, so you have to adjust accordingly. Sure he could always run up and slash the target, but the _Archangels_ real power was its shot.

Hitting the button on the side of the booth that made the target come up to him, Marcus unloaded the magazine and put the safety on. He had done a decent job, and had managed to hit the center twice, but too many of his shots were wide. It was easier when he had one weapon, but Ms. Chapman had told him to learn how to shoot with two weapons or none. Loading up another pair of magazines, he called another bull's eye up and tried again.

He stayed there until four o'clock. With a groan Marcus stretched out his arms. They were sore from being held up straight for so long. He put his _Archangels_ away and brought his targets up to his room. His aim had gotten better the more he practiced, but near the end his sore arms had made him sloppy.

"I'll need to work on that," he muttered to himself. Marcus had spread them out on his bed in chronological order and could see the change as time went on. He yawned and decided that now was the time for a snack, so he got up and walked down to the mess hall. Finding it closed, he walked into the kitchen to find an apple.

Getting permission from the head chef, he walked back into the storage fridge. It was a walk in with shelves along the walls encased in a thick layer of frost. The change from hot to cold was welcome, and Marcus could see his breath as he looked for the apples. They were kept in a card board box on the right wall, so he reached in a pulled out a granny smith. Wiping off a bit of ice, he was about to leave when something caught his eye. A large box marked 'Tea' had recently arrived. Taking a quick glace around he padded over and opened the lid. Inside were smaller boxes of tea bags, so he decided to put a bag in his pocket for further inspection.

"I'll just find out what kind of leaves are in here myself. Walter won't be able to notice one bag missing," he said to himself and closed the lid on the box. Walking out, he took a bite out of his apple and went back to his room.

Flopping down on his bed, he lay on the targets and frowned. His aim had improved, but he had gotten lucky in real fights so far. What would happen when he was in the club? Would he accidentally miss and hit a civilian? Sir Integra had said that this was merely an information gathering mission. The real fighting would probably happen when they found out what had happened to the three informants. Probably.

Down in Gloria's room, Marcus knocked once again on her coffin. "Time to wake up Gloria," he said.

She lifted the lid and looked at him. He looked worried about something. "Hello to you to. Is it time to go?"

"Yes."

"Good. I need some new clothes badly. What time is it?"

"Six thirty."

"I see. Did you eat already?"

"No. I wasn't hungry."

"Okay," Gloria said and got out of her coffin. She was sweating pretty badly, and sleeping had messed up her hair. "Did you say that we have thirty minutes before we leave?"

"Yes," was his monotone reply. Gloria looked down at him, sitting next to her coffin. Wherever his mind was, it wasn't here.

"Well, if we have a half an hour, we should have enough time to take a shower together," she said and walked towards the door. He got up and followed.

"Yeah, sure…Wait, what!" Marcus said, blushing furiously.

Gloria giggled and smiled at him. "Finally, I got you out of that stupor. What's wrong Marcus? Did you have a bad afternoon?"

Marcus sighed and hung his head down. "It's nothing. I'll be alright," he said and looked up at her with a grin. "Now how 'bout that shower?"

"Oh no you don't. That was just to get your attention. Tell me what's wrong or you won't get so much as a hug out of me," Gloria said and crossed her arms in front of her with a sly grin.

"If you have to know…I was worried about the mission. I've been practicing my aim, but I can't seem to get it right; no matter how hard I try. What if a Freak gets the jump on me and I get killed? Or worse! What will happen to you? Sir Integra probably won't let you stay here to long if I die, and what if you get captured by the Nazis again?" he hung his head. "I don't know if I can protect you," Marcus said in a quiet voice.

Gloria's mouth hung open. She was breathing heavily and could feel her undead heart pumping blood that was not her own through her body. Suddenly, she threw herself at Marcus and kissed him hard. Marcus's eyes opened in surprise at her reaction to his confession, but he soon didn't care and was kissing her back just as hard. He wrapped his arms around her and cradled her head in his hand.

Breaking their embrace, Gloria looked into his brown eyes with her crimson ones. "That was the sweetest thing I have ever heard! Oh God, I love you so much," she said passionately and started kissing him with just as much heat.

Finally pulling their lips apart, she continued speaking. "Do you think that matters to me? I love you! I used to be enslaved against my will, but you freed me! It doesn't matter to me how strong you are, as long as you are still you! I love you Marcus."

She smiled at him and he smiled back. Letting him go, Gloria went to the female's shower room and ran the warm water. She sighed and took off her clothes as the sound of a door filled the room. With a "meep!" she grabbed her dress and held it to her chest as Seras Victoria walked out of the other stall with a towel around her torso.

"Oh, it's just you," they both said at the same time and sighed in relief. Gloria and Seras turned to look at each other and laughed.

"Who did you think it was?" asked Seras, putting on her undergarments.

"Oh, I thought it was Marcus being an idiot. Who did you think I was?" Gloria said.

"Based on past experience, I'd have to say Pip."

"Who? I'm sorry, I don't know everyone's names yet," asked Gloria sheepishly climbing into the shower stall.

"Oh no, that's alright. He's just a perverted mercenary Captain that Sir Integra hired. Eye patch, braided pony tail, French accent, you can't miss him," replied Seras, now fully clothed.

Gloria smiled. "I'll have to make note of that one."

"Oh, trust me. You will," said the fledgling and paused for a moment. "Well, he does have his good qualities. Pip is the one who teaches Marcus how to be a good soldier, and he does genuinely care about others. He just has no sense of decency!"

"Hmm, do I detect a hidden crush?" asked Gloria from the shower. She could actually feel some body heat return to Seras and hear the blood rush to her cheeks.

"I have no such thing! He is a stupid, barmy Frenchman with no dignity and a lowly dog of war! Plus he won't stop singing that stupid Eskimo song!" roared Seras and she stormed out of the room.

"She has it so bad for him…" said Gloria. "Can't say I'm any better though."

"Sir Integra? I've found a way someone who knows what to do," said Marcus from the garage doorway leading into the mansion. The sun had almost set now, and Sir Integra was waiting by the car with Walter.

The knight in question was currently lighting up another awful cigar. "Oh really?" she said with disinterest. "Who?"

"Gloria, actually Sir," said Marcus as he stepped out of the doorway to reveal his vampiric girlfriend. Sir Integra was about to protest, but knew she had no expertise in this area.

"Very well," she said through gritted teeth. Sir Integra looked at Gloria and sighed. Pulling out a case from one of her pockets, she tossed it to Gloria. "Here's a pair of sunglasses. Don't take them off until we get back."

"Y-Yes Sir," Gloria said in a meek voice. She was still somewhat frightened by Sir Integra, but that applied to everyone who ever met her. Walter drove the car out of the estate and into town, with Gloria giving him directions to their destination.

"The store we are looking for is called 'Hot Topic'. It sells clothes and accessories."

"Uhh, forgive my bluntness Ms. Gloria, but is _that_ the store we are looking for?" said the butler and pointed to a large brick building in the shopping district.

"Yep, that's the place," said Gloria and got out of the car. Looking next store, she saw that the only other clothes store was a Kohl's, so she made a note to get their before the night was over.

They all walked into the store with different thoughts.

Marcus: I've always wanted to try on these kinds of clothes before, but I never had the chance before. Well, you only live once!

Gloria: I remember my first arm band that I bought here, _sigh_, I missed this all so much!

Sir Integra: WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS WOULD MAKE A PERSON _WANT_ TO WEAR ANYTHING IN THIS STORE! Though…I do kind of like these belts…

Walter: I wonder why this band calls itself 'Slipknot'? Oh, I know! They must be Boy Scouts! I think I'll buy a C.D. of them!

In the end, Marcus had gotten a pair of black pants with lots of chains and pockets, an arm band with a Punisher style skull on it, a shirt with a large anarchy sign on the front in red, a trench coat (of course it was black!), and a tube of red hair dye. Plus Walter got a C.D. (Author's Note: Poor, poor Walter…).

As they walked out of the store, Gloria asked Marcus to come with her Kohl's. The young man looked at Sir Integra, who sighed and looked at her watch.

"You have twenty minutes, though it'll come out of _your_ pocket. This has nothing to do with the mission at hand," she said to his silent request.

They were gone twenty minutes later, heading back to headquarters. Walter and Marcus had put the bags in the trunk of the car, and were now pulling in through the main gate. After unloading the bags (a lot which had 'Kohl's' on them, to Marcus's dismay), Sir Integra dismissed him and Gloria.

"Well, that went well," said Gloria in her new blouse and short-shorts. Marcus and her were walking down the hall from Gloria's room. As much as Marcus liked to see the clothes on Gloria and the smile on her face, there was something to be said about seeing money in his wallet.

"I'm glad you like them Gloria. Now what was it you wanted to show me?" he asked, putting his arm over her shoulder. Her skin was room temperature to his touch, but he didn't care.

"It's right in here," she said and opened the doors to the ballroom. It was almost pitch black, the new moon lightless in the starlit sky. The beauty of the place still threw him, and he looked around the room with wonder.

"This place is beautiful. I didn't even know it was here," he looked at her, red eyes almost shining in the darkened room. She walked over to him and smiled.

"Walter showed me it last night, when he brought me to my room. I really like this room, but it's a shame it hasn't been used in so long," Gloria said and sighed. "It's a waste really. Walter said that Sir Integra doesn't dance, so it probably won't be used for a while."

Marcus stepped over and kissed her on the cheek. "Just because Sir Integra doesn't dance, doesn't mean that we can't," he said and bowed low at the waist. "Would you honor me with this dance, Ms. Gloria?"

Gloria smiled and bit her lip before answering. "Why yes, Mr. Banks. I will," she said and curtsied.

He grabbed her right hand and wrapper his other around her slender figure. She put her left on his shoulder. With a snap of her fingers, slender music filled the room and they danced. Now Marcus had never danced in his life, but he knew that he had to lead and started to slowly revolve in a circle. Gloria had learned how to dance from her father, so she knew exactly where to put her feet.

Marcus spun her around, and swung her out. As she came back in, he had her face backwards and pressed his body against hers. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. Giving her a kiss on the neck, he felt an odd mark on her skin. Looking at it, his body stiffened and his eye's widened.

"Marcus? What's wrong?" asked Gloria. Suddenly, she put her hand to her neck and the music stopped playing. Her smile dropped as she turned around to face Marcus.

She sighed and dropped her hands to her sides. "I do have the marks still. They are the one wound that no one can heal," she said and found that she couldn't meet his eyes anymore. _I'm undead; he's a human who hunts the undead. What chance did I have?_ she thought and moved for the door to the patio outside. Marcus just stood there and stared at the floor. At the door she stopped, hand about to turn the knob. She glanced behind her. Marcus had still not moved from the spot. Gloria left him there and started walking through the shadowy garden.

_Just as well,_ Gloria thought. _Even if it did work, he would still die and I would be left alone again. It will be this way forever, just like they said it would be. If I fall in love, I'll only be hurt._ The thoughts going through her head made her stop and fall to her knees. Red tears ran down her face and stained her new clothes. She would have to leave now. It was inevitable. Sir Integra would probably contact her tomorrow ni-

"Gloria!"

She blinked. Her vampirism had given her not only control over sounds that she emitted, but also let her identify sounds in less then a heartbeat's time. And yet, she still couldn't believe what she was hearing. Footsteps through the grass, panting breath, a bird bath falling over, swearing, and her name.

"Gloria! Don't go!" Marcus called out into the night. He ran through the dark garden like a blind man, but kept on going. "Gloria, come back!"

"Marcus! I'm over here!" she called out to him. She couldn't move, but was able to see him run over. He practically tackled her in a tight embrace, running his fingers through her golden hair and kissing her over and over again. They lay there like that for some time in the tended lawn of the Hellsing estate. Neither spoke a word; none were needed. Over head the stars twinkled down on the two lovers. It wasn't until nine o'clock that Gloria spoke.

"Marcus I-

"No, you don't need to say anything Gloria. I know." Gloria took his advice and lay on his chest, listening to the beating of his heart. It had helped her sleep, even when she was a child, and helped her now. Soon, she was breathing deeply and evenly.

Marcus looked down at her and smiled. Carefully sliding out from under her, he dusted himself off. Looking up, he heard the squeak of bats as a cloud flew out from a main floor window. Something twitched near his foot, but it was only Gloria rolling over on the grass. He picked her up bridal style and slipped as quietly as he could into her room.

After he closed the lid on her coffin he walked out down the hall to his room for the night.

(Author's Note: Oooooooooooooooh! Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! Part 1! Which implies a part 2! Yay! Sorry for all the mush in this chapter, but I was feeling romantic (you get that way after listening to "And she will be loved" a lot). Next chapter will contain much-much violence and gore (not Al) and action. Unfortunately, I leave for camp tomorrow and won't be back until mid-August, so don't expect any updates until then. I'm really really sorry, but it's kind of hard to get internet access in the Wisconsin wilderness…at least without a laptop, but I don't have one of those. In the mean time, please feel free to read and review this chapter, any other chapters you haven't reviewed yet, check out my favorites section, check out my profile, offer yourself to me in more way then one, or any other form of devotion you might want to try. Be creative! You can do it! I know you can! **I believe in you, readers!** _Raises arms up triumphantly, holds position for a little too long, gets tired, lowers arms._ That's it; some one must be out to get me. It's the only logical, not-paranoid-at-all, clearly sane answer. _Shifty eyes._ Yeah, that's it…)


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